During the last weekend of April and the first weekend of May, the Mission Viejo Nadadores Diving Team, led by Head Coach and High Performance Director, John Appleman, divided and conquered USA Diving’s Regional Championships around the country. These are the first moves towards qualifying for the National Championships later this summer, and USA Diving hosts ten Regional qualifiers around the United States, which leads to six Zone Championships, and eventually the coveted USA Diving Junior Olympic Summer National Championships, set for July 29th to August 7th, in Morgantown, West Virginia.
Nadadores perform well and have fun throughout the competitions.
With such a large and formidable team, the Nadadores split up and went to three different Regional Championships: Region 8 in Brown Deer, Wisconsin, Region 10 in Provo, Utah, and Region 12 in Los Angeles, California. Appleman was pleased with the program as a whole saying, “The Regional Championships were a phenomenal opportunity for our divers to start the first step in their journey towards Junior Nationals.” He went on to compliment their performance and attitude, “The coaching staff was thrilled to see the Nadadores perform well and have fun throughout the competitions.”
Our Mission Viejo divers stepped up big time.
Todd Mulzet, the Blue and Gold’s Associate Head Coach, echoed Appleman’s praise, saying, “The Regional qualifiers marked the beginning of the 2024 junior meet season, and our Mission Viejo divers stepped up big time.” He highlighted more than a few notable performances at the Region 12 competition, “MVND won eight of sixteen events, taking seven of the top eight spots in the Boys Group A 3m event, and five of the top six in Boys Group A 1m; and our Group A Girls were equally dominant taking three of the top six spots on 1m, and four of the top 5 places on 3m.”
Smiles, great attitudes, and team bonding.
Mission Viejo’s Director of Developmental Diving, Liz Sanchez, complimented her divisions, saying, “Our Elite Bronze divers delivered an impressive performance at Regions 8, 10 and 12. Almost half of the Elite Bronze divers competed for the first time in their new AQUA age-group. It was also the very first JO and USA Diving Championship competition for seventeen Bronze divers.” She went on to note that even without a plethora of experience, the Blue and Gold displayed excellent athletic character, and said with pride, “I am always happy to see the smiles, great attitudes, and team bonding that goes on behind the scenes. Our divers showed great sportsmanship toward their teammates and those from other clubs. It was a very successful Regional Championship season. We are so thankful for all the parents do to support their child’s dive journey.”
Peaking this summer.
Lauren Thiel-Lopez, “Coach Lo,” Mission Viejo’s Elite Team Assistant Coach, reinforced her fellow staff’s praise and complimented the whole program, saying, “The Nadadores performed well across the three region meets attended in Los Angeles, Milwaukee, and Provo. We have over 70 divers qualified on to compete at Zones this summer in hopes of national qualification.” That’s almost every competitive JO Nadador on the team, and more than any other program in the country. Lo also highlighted the divers’ mental skills, commending, “I was most impressed by our divers confidence in their events, many saw personal best performances and dove consistently and calmly.” As a fellow meet director, Lo finished by commending the competition organizers and foreshadowing a successful summer push, “All meets were run well and it was a great experience for all our divers and their families. We are looking forward to peaking this summer and having another strong showing at zones and nationals.”
Showing great poise and composure.
The Nadadores’ newest Assistant Coach and professional 3m springboard diver, Grayson Campbell, was ecstatic with his first experience as an MVND Coach at a regional qualifier, saying, “The Nadadores participated in some of the most competitive regional competitions around the country, and showed great poise and composure.” Highlighting personal records and great performances, he also looks forward to the next steps in the Blue and Gold’s summer journey. “Many athletes recorded personal best scores, and qualified through to USA Diving Zone Championships. I’m very excited to see how we can build on this great performance!”
TYR Junior America’s Cup.
A job well done can be attributed to all Nadador families who partook in this year’s Regional Championships, and all eyes are now set on the upcoming Zones which will take place in late May and early June. But first, don’t miss some of the top Junior divers around the world coming to Mission Viejo this week for the inaugural TYR Junior America’s Cup, May 23rd to 26th, at the Marguerite Aquatic Complex.
