Cyrus Gaylord Qualifies for Nationals with Second Fourth-Place Finish

SAN ANTONIO, Texas - One day after finishing fourth in the three-meter dive, Cyrus Gaylord earned a fourth-place finish in the one-meter at the NCAA Region 2 Diving Qualifier to earn one of the region's four bids to the NCAA Division III Championships.

Gaylord earned 414.05 points to come in fourth place, behind only the same three divers that finished ahead of him in the three-meter (Lucas Bumgarner of Emory, John Beuerlein of Rhodes and Avery Balch of Birmingham Southern). The top two finishers on each board were guaranteed bids, but since Bumgarner and Beuerlein went 1-2 on both boards, the third and fourth bids went to Balch and Gaylord. 

Teammate Jack Griffith was the fifth-place finisher on the one-meter with 381.40 points, while Ben Smith had 317.20 points. 

Gaylord is the tenth member of the CMS men's swimming and diving team to earn an invitation to the NCAA Division III Championships, which will be held next month in Indianapolis. Nine swimmers received their invitations earlier this week, and the program as a whole will have 22 student-athletes at nationals, with 12 attending from the Athena half (including diver Izzy Doud, who qualified today).