Kendall Hollimon Wins Three-Meter at NCAA Regionals, Jacque Desmond Fourth in One-Meter

GRINNELL, IA - Junior Kendall Hollimon finished in first place in the three-meter dive at the NCAA Regional Diving Championships on Saturday, earning a trip to compete at the NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships in Greensboro, N.C. later this month.

Hollimon finished third in the one-meter on Saturday, which did not earn him an automatic qualification to nationals, which meant he had some pressure on him on Saturday to earn a high finish in the three-meter. He came through with a final score of 537.30, earning first place in a tight battle with Lucas Bumgarner of Emory, who was second with 526.80 points. Daniel Valmassei and Anthony Liva of Trinity (Texas) finished third and fourth, respectively and also earned their way to nationals. 

The regional win means that Hollimon will return to nationals this year after earning All-America honors in both diving events a year ago. He finished fourth at the 2018 NCAA Championships in the three-meter and seventh in the one-meter.  

Yesterday, Hollimon finished with 466.35 points in the one-meter to finish behind Bumgarner (518.95) and Valmassei (502.90) in third place, the first time this season that Hollimon finished behind another Division III competitor in any diving event. 

On the women's side, senior Jacque Desmond finished fourth on Saturday in the one-meter with a score of 378.25, one day after a sixth-place finish in the three-meter. Kellyn Toole of Chapman was the individual champion in the one-meter with a 403.55. Friday, she came in sixth in the three-meter with a 369.75, just behind Toole (386.25), Maren Merwarth of Trinity (379.05) and Megan Thai of Whittier (371.60) in the 3-5 spots. 

Diving invitations to the NCAA Division III Championships will be officially announced Monday, as the CMS programs will be able to complete their traveling contingent to Greensboro March 20-23.