The prestige in USA Diving is no greater than this, the ultimate qualifier organized only once a quadrennial with the chance to represent your country on the world’s largest stage, the Olympic Games. This year that opportunity was hosted at The Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center in Knoxville, Tennessee, from June 17th to the 23rd, and the Mission Viejo Nadadores had nine representatives competing in five different events. The Olympic Trials is one of the most grueling, pressure-packed tests of consistency and mental fortitude a diver will face in their career.
“Valuable experience at their first Olympic Trials showing.”
In the women’s 3m synchronized event, Avery Giese, set to continue her NCAA career at the University of Kentucky this fall, teamed up with fellow Nadador alum, Ella Roselli, who dives with esteemed Olympic coach, Drew Johansen, at Indiana University. The pair gained valuable experience at their first Olympic Trials showing, and are likely to make another appearance in 2028. Carolina Sculti, one of the Nadadores post-grad pros, teamed up with another Hoosier, Anne Fowler. Sculti and Fowler gave it their all in what might be their last competition together, finishing in fifth place in finals.
“The Welsh brothers showed great poise.”
The blue and gold had two teams in the men’s 3m synchronized event as well: twins, Zach and Jake Welsh, recent high school graduates set to continue diving at two of the top university programs in the country, Purdue and Texas, and post-grad pro Grayson Campbell, University of Texas alum, teamed up with Stanford graduate, Jack Ryan. The Welsh brothers showed great poise in their Olympic Trials debut, and managed to move up from sixth to a fifth place finish from prelims to finals. Campbell and Ryan had some of the best dives in the contest, notably their reverse one-and-one-half somersaults with three-and-one-half twists, finishing on the podium in third place, only 15.9 points from the winners.
“A legend in the sport.”
For the women’s individual 3m event, Carolina Sculti was the Nadador’s sole representative. A solid performance in prelims with consistent scores on four of her five dives had Sculti in tenth place going into semis; however, a few misses in the second list of dives had her finishing in thirteenth place, only 3.35 points from making the finals. Sculti is a legend in the sport, with a divemeets profile dating back to 2009, full of top place finishes at some of the biggest competitions, from AAU, YMCA, and JO Nationals, to NCAA finals and Senior Nationals. As this might be her last competition, everyone in the diving community is grateful for Sculti’s powerful presence on deck, her positive attitude, and infectious smile.
“The future is bright.”
In the men’s individual 3m event, Grayson Campbell and Zach Welsh represented the blue and gold well in a very competitive field. Welsh took eleventh in prelims with a score of 340.15, and with almost the exact same total score in semis, he dropped down to fourteenth, narrowly missing finals. Campbell was solidly consistent through all three rounds, scoring close to 400 points in each list, and ended with an impressive sixth place finish in finals. The future is bright for both of these young men as they look ahead to more training and competitions, and they’ll likely be on the radar for 2028.
Two Nadador women in the 10m finals.
The largest group of Nadador divers was in the women’s 10m event, with three high school graduates, Anna Lemkin, Taylor Fox, and Jaiden Lynch (Lynch unfortunately scratched due to an elbow injury), and Northwestern University alum, Markie Hopkins. A deep field with 28 divers made for a tough prelims (the men had only 16), and finished with a solid showing from both Lemkin and Fox, but a mediocre performance from Hopkins had her barely missing out on semis. A consistent final two rounds for both Nadador women ended placing Lemkin in eighth with 513.10, and Fox in seventh with 534.85. Being two of the youngest finalists in the women’s 10m event, it’s safe to say both Fox and Lemkin will be two to watch out for as their diving progresses at Stanford University and The University of Texas. Even though we didn’t get to see her compete this time, Lynch will also be highly anticipated as she joins her teammate at Texas with renowned coach, Matt Scoggin.
“I am so proud of each and every one of them.”
High Performance Director and Head Coach of the Mission Viejo Nadadores Diving Program, John Appleman, was excited about his divers performances in Knoxville, stating, “I was thrilled to have the opportunity to see our athletes participate in the Olympic Trials. We had a number of phenomenal showings and the value of the experience of taking part in this event will set up many of our Nadadores to be in the position come 2028 to qualify for the Olympic Team. I am so proud of each and every once of them.” With six of the nine Nadador divers that qualified for Olympic Trials just starting their collegiate careers this fall, it’s compelling to think we’ll see many of them again in four years time.
A great way to show your support
Supporting LA-2028 Olympic hopeful divers is one of the Nadador’s newest initiatives, and if you’d like to join in this movement, “The 5-Rings Fund” is a great way to show your support.
