COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – For the fifth time this season, San Diego State's Ximena Lechuga Gonzalez (Tijuana, Mexico) was named Mountain West Diver of the Week following her performances at the NAU Lumberjack Invitational, conducted Feb. 3-5 in Flagstaff, Arizona.
With her honor, Lechuga Gonzalez garnered the 12th conference weekly accolade of her career, giving the Aztecs 10 such awards this year.
In three events last weekend, Lechuga Gonzalez took home an individual crown and posted two runner-up placements in SDSU's last tune-up before next week's conference championships, posting season-high point totals and surpassing NCAA Zone qualifying marks in each of the final rounds.
Lechuga Gonzalez set the tone for the invitational by winning the 3-meter springboard on Friday with a combined score of 620.60 points. After placing fifth in the preliminary round with 290.65 points, the Aztec senior roared back in the final with a season-best 329.95 points to secure her sixth event title of the 2022-23 campaign.
On Saturday, Lechuga Gonzalez racked up an aggregate 580.65 points in the 1-meter springboard, featuring an effort of 306.75 points in the finals to finish second just eight points behind the leader.
In the platform competition, on Sunday, Lechuga Gonzalez closed out the meet with another strong second-place performance, finishing just 2.15 points in back of the winner with 248.10 points overall. In her fourth dive of the event, the Tijuana, Mexico, native recorded a score of 58.05 in the 205C at 10 meters.
The San Diego State swim and dive program will be looking to defend its conference title next week when it travels to the Lone Star State for the Mountain West Championships, Feb. 15-18, in Houston, Texas.