AT&T National Diving Championships: Troy Dumais, Jessica Parratto Among National Champions on Saturday

GREENSBORO, North Carolina, August 18. FRESH off a bronze medal in synchronized 3-meter and a fifth-place finish individually at the Olympic Games, Troy Dumais (Ventura, Calif.) won his 36th career national title with a win on 3-meter Saturday at the AT&T National Diving Championships.

Other winners were Jessica Parratto (Dover, N.H.) in women's 10-meter, Steele Johnson (Carmel, Ind.) and Dashiell Enos (Studio City, Calif.) in men's synchronized 10-meter, and Meghan Houston (Austin, Texas) and Laura Ryan (Elk River, Minn.) in women's synchronized 3-meter.

Dumais was one of seven members of the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team in attendance Saturday, and while the others opted not to compete, Dumais entered the men's 3-meter contest and came away with 511.70 points for the win. His older brother Justin Dumais (Ventura, Calif.) finished second with 467.30 points, and Aaron Fleshner (Spring, Texas) took the bronze at 466.20.

“Today wasn't about winning a title. The whole idea of me competing was to push the younger kids. I wanted these kids to wrestle with me and give them the opportunity to push me and to push themselves to see what they're capable of,” said Dumais, who returned to the states from London on Monday. “I also really enjoyed watching my brothers. I don't know if we'll all be together at a diving event again. It was such a fun competition and I really felt like I was at home because my brothers were here.”

Troy's youngest brother Dwight finished fifth with 459.40 points, two-tenths behind fourth-place finisher Michael Hixon (Amherst, Mass.).

Parratto, 18, won her first national title by less than three points, edging runner-up Amy Cozad (Indianapolis, Ind.) 351.05-348.15. Katrina Young (Shoreline, Wash.) was third at 344.20, and Gracia Leydon-Mahoney (Newton, Mass.) took fourth with 341.70 points.

Cozad led Parratto by three-tenths of a point heading into the last round, when both divers were performing a back 2 ? with 1 ? twists. Parratto scored 75.20 on her dive, while Cozad's went for 72 points to give Parratto the victory.

“I knew it was going to be close and I knew I was going to have to do a good back twister. Mostly though I just wanted to have fun today, and I did,” Parratto said.

Parratto was inspired by seeing the Olympic team members on the pool deck before her competition. In addition to Dumais, gold and bronze medalist David Boudia, bronze medalists Kristian Ipsen and Nick McCrory, and Olympic team members Katie Bell, Christina Loukas and Brittany Viola were on hand for Saturday's events.

“I was so happy to see them and so proud of what they did in London. I was so inspired by their performances, and I want to be there in Rio in four years. I'm going to keep training my hardest like they did. It'll make it all worth it,” Parratto said.

Johnson and Enos won their first national title with 417.33 in the men's synchronized 10-meter finals, with Johnson also teaming with Toby Stanley (Conway, Ark.) for second at 413.22.

“I dove consistent. I didn't really miss anything with either partner, although there's still room for improvement. We'll do what we can to keep getting better for next year,” Johnson said.

Ryan and Houston paired up for the first time since the 2010 junior nationals and came away with their first national title together after scoring 309.30 points in the women's synchronized 3-meter contest. Gabriella Agostino (South Bend, Ind.) and Logan Kline (Mission Hills, Kan.) scored 291.30 for second.

“I thought it went well, especially considering we just started diving together again. We just enjoyed the competition,” Ryan said.

The AT&T National Diving Championships conclude Sunday, when titles will be awarded in women's synchronized 10-meter, men's synchronized 3-meter, women's 3-meter and men's 10-meter.

The above article is a press release submitted to Swimming World Magazine. It has been posted in its entirety without editing. Swimming World offers all outlets the chance to reach our audience by contacting us at Newsmaster@swimmingworldmagazine.com. However, Swimming World reserves the right to choose what material is posted.

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