Jack Ryan and Hailey Hernandez won 1-meter titles at the 2024 USA Diving Winter National Championships
Jack Ryan, Hailey Hernandez Win 1-Meter Titles at Winter Nationals
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Bloomington, Ind. – Jack Ryan (Denver, Colo./Stanford University) and Hailey Hernandez (Southlake, Texas/University of Texas) won 1-meter titles Friday at the USA Diving Winter National Championships.
Ryan cruised to the men’s 1-meter title with 792.65 points over two lists of dives. Ryan had already clinched the victory before performing his last dive, winning gold by 72.60 points.
Quinn Henninger (Denver, Colo./Indiana University), who won gold with Ryan in Wednesday’s 3-meter synchro event, took the 1-meter silver with 720.05 points. Carson Tyler (Moultrie, Ga./Indiana University) scored 716.20 points for bronze.
Scores from the afternoon preliminaries carried over, and Ryan came into the final with a 42.65-point lead. He increased the gap after scoring 70 or more points on his first three dives in the final, opening with 70.40 points on a front 2 ½ with one twist, followed by 72.85 points on an inward 2 ½ tuck and then scoring 72 points on a front 3 ½ tuck.
The women’s contest was much closer. Canadian Mia Vallee scored 518.50 points to finish first, while Hernandez walked away with the national title as the top-finishing U.S. diver. Hernandez scored 506.75 points, with Sophie Verzyl (Columbia, S.C./University of South Carolina) right behind her at 505.95 for silver. Lanie Gutch (Orlando, Fla./University of North Carolina), who won a silver medal on 1-meter at the World Aquatics Junior Diving Championships last month, took the bronze medal with 493.80 points.
Less than five points separated the top four women after the morning preliminaries. Vallee led the field, with Verzyl just .55 points behind in second. Hernandez and Margo O’Meara (St. Louis, Mo./Duke University) tied for third in the prelims.
Verzyl and Hernandez traded positions throughout the final. Verzyl held the advantage after round one when she opened her list with 54.60 points on a front 2 ½ pike. Hernandez moved ahead after the second round, but Verzyl retook the lead in round three and led after round four as well.
Hernandez saved her best dive for last, closing out her list with 57.20 points on her final dive – a front 1 ½ with two twists. It was enough to move ahead of Verzyl, who ended with 49.40 points on the same dive. Hernandez scored 50-plus on two other dives.
The USA Diving Winter National Championships continue through December 15. Saturday’s competition features men’s 3-meter and women’s 10-meter preliminaries and finals.
