March 15, 2009
AUSTIN, Texas - San Diego State diver Alex Barstad made Aztec history this past weekend as she became the first Aztec to advance to the finals of a diving competition the NCAA Zone E regional meet contested in Austin Texas. Her success was all the more remarkable as she qualified for the finals in all three events: the one-meter, three-meter and platform competitions.
The field of divers was made up of athletes from schools in the Pac-10, Western Athletic Conference, Big West and West Coast Conference in addition to the Mountain West Conference.
In the three-meter event contested on Thursday (March 12), Barstad scored a 259.70 in the prelims to finish among the top 18 of 45 divers and move into the finals. She then scored a 261.25 on her next six dives to finish with a total score of 520.95, good for 11th place. With that result, the SDSU junior became the first member of the Aztec squad to move past the prelims at a zone meet. Among the divers from the Mountain West Conference in the event, she finished third.
On Friday, Barstad advanced to the finals of the one-meter diving, finishing 18th in a field of 44 during the prelims. She held that place for the remainder of the competition with a final score of 439.05.
Saturday afternoon she competed in the platform diving for only the second time during the 2008-09 season, advancing to the finals and finishing 11th of 36 competitors with a score of 398.60. Her placing was the second-highest of any diver from a Mountain West Conference school.
Barstad had initially qualified for the Zone E competition when she scored a 267.89 in the one-meter diving competition at TCU on Jan. 17. Three weeks later she set a personal best with a 288.20 in the three-meter in the Aztecs' meet against University of San Diego on Feb. 7 to reaffirm her credentials for the Regionals.