March 15, 2002
STANFORD, Calif. - Arizona State freshman diver Thomas McCrummen just missed an automatic berth to the NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships, placing fourth in the 1-meter springboard in the second day of the NCAA Zone E Diving Championships from the Arrillaga Family Sports Center in Stanford, Calif., Friday.
With the top-three finishers receiving automatic bids, McCrummen's 311.35 championship total was a point and a half shy of qualifying for the national meet. Stanford's Adam Peterson earned the crucial third-place finish with a score of 312.85. Winning the event was Arizona's Omar Ojeda (337.20), followed by Wildcat teammate Joshua Anderson (324.40) in second place.
ASU sophomore Gordon Blukis placed 10th in the event with a score of 276.70.
The Sun Devil women were also in action, competing in the 3-meter springboard. Senior Natalie Burgess placed 17th with 405 points, followed closely in the standings by sophomore teammate Jessica Stenson with a 19th-place total of 245.20. USC's Blythe Hartley was the event champion, accumulating 556.35 points.
The Zone E Championships conclude tomorrow with finals of the men's and women's platform events. For swimmers and divers who qualify, the women's NCAA Championship are March 21-23 in College Station, Texas, followed by the men's championships from Athens, Ga., March 28-30.