Back on the Podium! Hollimon First, Desmond Third for Second Straight Day at SCIAC Diving Championships

CLAREMONT, Calif. - Junior Kendall Hollimon won the SCIAC one-meter diving championship, and senior Jacque Desmond finished strong to move up to third place in the three-meter as the duo represented the Stags and Athenas on the All-SCIAC podium for the second straight day after day two of the league championships on Sunday at Pomona-Pitzer's Haldeman Pool. 

Hollimon was joined in the finals by senior Scott Montague and freshman Noa Schachtel from the Stags after the morning prelims, while Desmond and sophomore Emily Bhatt both qualified for the finals for the Athenas. 



"I was really blessed to be in a really good field this year," Hollimon said of the SCIAC Championships. "It's also a field of really good people. On top of it being top competition, it was also just cool being with really good people this year. I enjoyed it a lot."

Hollimon took a 35-point lead after the morning prelims, earning the right to dive last in the finals. He finished strong to end up winning by a 64-point spread with a 535.70, capping off his SCIAC effort with his best dive of the day, earning several nines from the seven-judge panel. 

The SCIAC Championship was the sixth for Hollimon in three years, after sweeping both the one-meter and three-meter the last two seasons as well. Montague finished in eighth place after qualifying for the finals in his final SCIAC event, while Schachtel ended in ninth by reaching the finals in his SCIAC debut. 

The women's side saw Desmond enter the finals in fourth place in a very close race, but midway through the finals, she was in fifth and on the outside looking in for All-SCIAC honors (given to the top three). However, she rattled off four strong dives in a row, and was able to finish with 428.70 points, earning third place by just four points over Kellyn Toole of Chapman (yesterday's one-meter champion) on by earning sevens and eights on her final dive. 

"I knew she could," said Hollimon of Desmond's late rally, which gave her two All-SCIAC honors in two days after also finishing third in yesterday's one-meter. "She's an incredible athlete and an incredible teammate. It was exciting watching her; we all knew she could do it."

Bhatt added a sixth-place finish for the Athenas with 386.75 points, adding to the CMS total as the SCIAC Swimming and Diving Championships shift to the swimming competitions next week, from Thursday-Sunday in Commerce, California.