Olympic Medalists Jessica Parratto, Delaney Schnell Win at USA Diving Nationals
Two summers ago, Jessica Parratto and Delaney Schnell teamed to win a historic silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics in women’s platform synchro.
Thursday, they added a national title to their heap of trophies.
Schnell and Parratto joined forces to win the 10-meter title at 2023 USA Diving Nationals in Morgantown, West Virginia. It books a place at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka and a first chances to qualify for the Paris Olympics in 2024.
Schnell and Parratto posted a score of 575.16 points at the Aquatic Center at Mylan Park. That easily bested the only other squad in the competition, Katrina Young and Nike Agunbiade. That pair scored 528.00.
Parratto is back on platform after a hiatus. She took time off after the Tokyo Games, her second Olympics, and competed in the non-Olympic 1-meter event at Winter Nationals before deciding she wanted to reunite with Schnell. They competed at the FINA World Cup stop in Montreal earlier this spring.
“I came out to test out the waters and had lots of conversations with Delaney,” Parratto told USA Diving. “I was back on 10-meter by late February or early March, so it hasn’t been a long time. There’s still a lot to work on but I’m happy with the progress I’ve made in such a short time.”
Schnell just wrapped up her career at the University of Arizona with a long-awaited NCAA title on platform. She won a pair of medals in synchro at Worlds last year.
“Right now, we’re just trying to get back into it and try to get back to where we were in Tokyo,” Schnell said. “I feel like Montreal was a good stepping stone, just to see where we were at and try to get a competition under Jess’s belt because it had been awhile for her.”
The other event on the second night of the eight-day meet was the men’s 3-meter synchro, which went to Tyler Downs and Greg Duncan. The Purdue duo (Duncan also reps RipFest) routed the competition, scoring 812.28 points. That was more than 100 clear of the runners-up, Nick Harris of Texas and Max Fowler.
“I thought we came out and executed the majority of the meet,” Duncan said. “There are definitely some points that we left on the table, but our goal was to come in and qualify (for worlds) and that’s what we did. I’m proud of us.”
2023 USA Diving National Championships Results
Night 2
Men’s synchronized 3-meter final
- Gregory Duncan, Purdue Diving/Tyler Downs, RipFest, 812.28
- Nicholas Harris, Longhorn Aquatics/Max Fowler, Montgomery Dive Club, 695.85
- Jacob Welsh/Zachary Welsh, Mission Viejo Nadadores Dive, 682.89
- Dylan Reed, Unattached/Cameron Cash, Pitt Aquatic Club, 661.86
- Maxwell Miller/Jacob Jones, Woodlands Diving Academy, 657.60
- Noah Duperre, Longhorn Aquatics/Jack Ryan, Unattached, 637.20
- Noah Turner/Braylon Goodno, RipFest, 523.86
- Braylon Goodno/Evan Stingley, RipFest, 505.80
Women’s synchronized 10-meter final
- Jessica Parratto/Delaney Schnell, 575.16
- Katrina Young, Trojan Dive Club/Nike Agunbiade, Unattached, 528.00