Eight-For-Eight! Kendall Hollimon Completes Perfect SCIAC Career with Three-Meter Championship

CLAREMONT, Calif. - Senior Kendall Hollimon won the SCIAC 3-Meter Championship in his final conference event at Axelrood Pool on Sunday afternoon, concluding a career in which he won all eight SCIAC Championships he competed in over his four seasons.

Hollimon captured both the 1-meter and the 3-meter championships as a freshman in 2017, and then swept both boards his final three seasons as well to end a perfect SCIAC career. He was pushed this season by Pomona-Pitzer divers Jem Stern and Ben Willett, who finished second and third on both boards and had both championships in doubt going into the final couple of dives.



"I never took it for granted," said Hollimon of winning his eight championships. "New incredible divers have continued to come in every year and continue to challenge me, so it's been a great process every time. I feel blessed every time I am able to do it."

In fact, Stern earned the highest-scoring dive of the day, which included a 9 from on of the judges, in the fourth round of finals to put some pressure on Hollimon, but Hollimon came through with high marks on his final three dives to earn 532.40 points, winning by a 30-point margin over Stern (492.60). 

"Iron sharpens iron for sure," said Hollimon of the challenge that the Sagehens provided in both dives this weekend. "I'm incredibly grateful for Jem and Ben and really all the great divers at PP and Redlands who have been continuing to challenge me. It's made the competition interesting, and also just a lot more rewarding."

The Stags also had junior Juan Diego Herrera and sophomore Abai Houser qualify for the finals on Sunday to earn more points towards the CMS total. Herrera ended up in sixth place with 321.00 points and Houser had 284.40 points. 

Hollimon also continued the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's swimming and diving team's dominance on the diving boards, marking 11 years in a row that the Stags have won the SCIAC 3-meter Championship and eight years in a row on the 1-meter board. James Stevick won seven SCIAC titles, sweeping the 3-meter from 2012-15 and winning the 1-meter from 2013-15, with the 2012 1-meter championship marking the last time that CMS did not win one of the SCIAC diving titles. 

The swimming portion of the SCIAC Swimming and Diving Championships gets underway on Thursday, when all nine SCIAC teams head to Commerce, California for the four-day championships as the Stags will try to win back the league title.