Arnett Claims Double Gold at Speedo Junior National Diving Championships

INDIANAPOLIS, July 28. THURSDAY’S winners at the Speedo Junior National Diving Championships at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis included the first double gold medalist of the 2006 championships as four more junior national champions were crowned.

Kaylea Arnett (The Woodlands, Texas) won the girls 13 and under platform title; Abby Johnston (Columbus, Ohio) took the gold in girls 16-18 three-meter; Matt Cooper (Bethesda, Md.) won the boys 16-18 one-meter title; and Andrew Whittington (Oklahoma City, Okla.) placed first in the boys 13 and under platform competition.

Arnett, who won the girls 13 and under three-meter gold on Wednesday, used a strong final dive on platform to become the first double-winner of the 2006 championships. Arnett received scores as high as 8.5 on her last dive, a back 1.5 with 1.5 twists. That pushed her final score to 323.60, enough to overtake Mary Dunnichay (Elwood, Ind.), who had the lead heading into the final round but finished with 321.30 points to take silver behind Arnett for the second day. Michelle Cabassol (Montgomery, Texas) won bronze with 314.85 points and Kassidy Cook (Plantation, Fla.) placed fourth at 295.35. Kathryn Connolly (San Antonio, Texas) scored 284.90 to finish fifth.

Cooper, the runner-up on one-meter a year ago, scored 489.75 to edge out silver medalist Brandon Watson (Riverton, Utah), who finished with 485.20 points. Kristopher Hill (Aurora, Ohio) won the bronze medal with a score of 476.45, and Ryan Helms (Moultrie, Ga.) placed fourth at 471.75. Landon Marzullo (Columbus, Ohio), last year’s champion, finished fifth with 470.70 points.

Johnston, last year’s three-meter silver medalist, captured this year’s gold with 435.65 points. Casey Matthews (Gettsville, N.Y.) won the silver with 417.45 points, and Margaret Hostage (Potomac, Md.) scored 402.45 points for the bronze. Victoria Ishimatsu (Seal Beach, Calif.) with 391.50 points and Jessica Lyden (Lexington, Ky.) with 380.90 points rounded out the top five.

Whittington scored 310.50 points for the 13 and under platform gold, and silver went to Charlie Retter (Blue Bell, Pa.), who scored 305.25 for his second medal of the championships after taking bronze on one-meter Wednesday. Ross Edfort (Somerset, N.J.), the one-meter champion, walked away with bronze on platform after finishing with 298.50 points. Andrew Cramer (Indianapolis) placed fourth with 265.30 and Cory Bowersox (Burke, Va.) finished fifth at 261.80.

The Speedo Junior National Championships continue through Sunday, July 30. In all, 18 national titles will be awarded.

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