FRESNO – Diver Colten Young’s formula for success claimed another major prize Friday at the CIF State Swimming and Diving Championships.
The Crean Lutheran junior again assembled the 11-dive list with the highest degree of difficulty and executed with the most consistency at the Clovis Olympic Swim Complex at Clovis West High.
Young’s recipe helped him defend his state title with a score of 569.10 points on the 1-meter springboard, 12.35 off his state record from 2015.
“You want to have the highest DD and be the most consistent,” said judge Curt Wilson, the Crown Valley Divers club coach. “You’re unbeatable, if that’s the case. … He’s doing the difficult dives very beautifully, so he’s getting great scores.”
Young also had the highest DD at the CIF-SS Division 2 finals last week, where he claimed a third consecutive section crown.
He seized the lead Friday from Beckman’s Johnny Robinson, the runner-up with 499.90 points, in the sixth round and sprinted to the finish.
Young scored his only 10 in the seventh round on an inward 11/2 somersault tuck. He closed with a forward 11/2 somersault with two twists in the 10th round, earning four 9.0s.
His 11th and final dive – an inward 21/2 somersault tuck – held his highest DD at 3.1. He responded with an 8 and two 7s.
“I dove pretty consistently,” said Young, aiming to qualify this summer for the Junior World Championships. “It feels really good. I’m really glad that I had the opportunity to defend my title. … It’s pretty unique.”
Robinson and El Toro’s Joseph Winkler, also both juniors, delivered inspiring performances. Robinson finished 18th last season but averaged a score of 7.39 en route to a second-place finish.
“Moving up,” Robinson said. “It’s just really showing that I’m actually growing. It’s a good confidence booster.”
Winkler failed a dive in the second round – scoring zero points – after his knees buckled but he hung tough to make two cuts to place 13th at 430.85.
“I’m obviously upset that I failed a dive, but other than that, I’m proud of what I was able to do and not give up,” Winkler said.
Sophomore Trevor Labuda of the Central Coast’s Los Altos finished third at 495.00. The girls meet is Saturdayat 8:30 a.m.
Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com
