Kassidy Cook, Sarah Bacon Secure Another National Title, Worlds Spot
Kassidy Cook and Sarah Bacon teamed up to win a national title on Friday, claiming the women’s 3-meter synchro crown at the 2023 USA Diving Nationals.
They were one of two champions crowned on the third night of the eight-day event in Morgantown, West Virginia. They joined the men’s 10-meter platform synchro title, won by Brandon Loschiavo and Jordan Rzepka.
- Max Weinrich, Kaylee Bishop Start 2023 USA Diving Nationals with Platform Synchro Crown
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Cook and Bacon continue their quest to reach the Olympics. The win Friday secures spots at the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka this summer, a first chance to earn quota spots at the 2024 Paris Games.
Cook and Bacon started slow, missing an early dive in prelims that landed them 12th after two rounds. But they rallied get back in front by the fourth round of prelims.
It added up to a tally of 568.08 points on their two lists, a comfortable margin of 30-plus points. They nailed the final dive, a front two-and-a-half with twist, for 72.90 points.
Kyndal Knight and Samantha Pickens were second with 531.30. Krysta Palmer and Kristen Hayden won bronze with a score of 505.80. (Palmer earlier in the week won the mixed 3-meter synchro with Jack Ryan.)
“I think after this morning, we recovered really well from the second round,” Cook told USA Diving. “We knew that when we came into the finals, all we needed to do was just five dives the way we do every day in practice. We just needed to land on our heads. I think we were just feeling a little bit of pressure this morning, but we came back feeling really confident and more like ourselves this afternoon.”
Cook and Bacon won a silver medal this spring at the World Aquatics World Cup stop in Montreal.
Rzepka and Loschiavo also endured a sluggish prelims, waiting until the final round to take the lead into finals. They left no doubt in the evening, scoring 763.35 points, nearly 50 ahead of Zach Cooper and Max Flory.
Their last dive of the morning was worth 86.58 points, and they scored no fewer than 74 points all four optional dives. It make two national titles on the week for representatives of Purdue, with Tyler Downs and Greg Duncan winning men’s 3-meter synchro.
“The prelim was a little rough,” Rzepka said. “It was only our third time competing together, so we’re still a little new to it. I think for finals, we really dialed in more on what needed to be done. No messing around, just do what we came here to do.”
The meet at the Aquatic Center at Mylan Park runs through next Wednesday, with individual events starting Saturday.
2023 USA Diving Nationals Results
Night 3
Men’s Synchronized 10-meter
- Brandon Loschiavo /Jordan Rzepka, Purdue Diving, 763.35
- Zach Cooper /Maxwell Flory, Miami Diving, 713.52
- Noah Turner/Leyton Dean, RipFest, 460.74
Women’s Synchronized 3-meter Final
- Kassidy Cook, Woodlands Diving Academy/Sarah Bacon, Unattached, 568.08
- Samantha Pickens, City of Midland/Kyndal Knight, Kentucky Diving Club, 531.30
- Kristen Hayden, Johansen Diving Academy/Krysta Palmer, Nevada Diving Club, 505.80
- Carolina Sculti, Crown Valley Divers/Anne Fowler, Johansen Diving Academy, 504.12
- Lily Witte, Wolverine Diving/Bailee Sturgill, RipFest, 495.54
- Taylor Fox/Anna Lemkin, Mission Viejo Nadadores Dive, 493.29
- Avery Giese/Ella Roselli, Mission Viejo Nadadores Dive, 430.77
- Kayla Jensen/Mariana Huang, Woodlands Diving Academy, 430.44