Jan. 28, 2017
Junior Alexandra Caplan led a contingent of seven San Diego divers in two events on the opening day of the Air Force Diving Invitational on Friday in Colorado Springs, Colo. The meet featured 62 competitors from 13 schools including Mountain West teams Wyoming, Boise State, Colorado State, UNLV and Air Force.
Caplan was one of two Aztecs to advance to the finals of the 1-meter springboard competition after finishing fifth in the prelims with a score of 272.25. Her finals mark of 282.80 allowed her to move up two places as she finished third in the event.
Freshman Marie Yacopino also advanced to the finals after placing eighth in the prelims with a score of 257.90. She then turned in a mark of 238.25 over the final six dives to maintain her eight-place overall finish.
Four other SDSU athletes also competed in the prelims but were unable to advance to the final round. That quartet included Makena Chamoures (11th - 248.50), Payton Gabris (22nd - 229.35), Delaney Gallagher (40th - 210.90) and Nicole Dutton (55th - 193.25).
The platform board was also contested on Friday with Caplan placing 12th, the highest among the Aztecs, with a score of 198.10 for her five dives.
Gabris was next for San Diego state with a mark of 191.45, good for 1th place. She was followed by Chamoures, who was 22nd with a score of 185.30.
Freshman Wella Hsu, who did not compete on the 1-meter springboard, placed 34th on the platform with a score of 174.25 while teammate Gallagher was 40th (167.10).
Other Aztec placings included Dutton in 44th with a score of 164.64 and Yacopino in 54th at 151.10.
Action continues today at the Air Force Diving Invitational with the prelims on the women's 3-meter board set to get underway at 11:00 a.m. (MT).