SIX CHAMPIONS CROWNED AT SPEEDO JUNIOR NATIONALS

THE WOODLANDS, TEXAS (August 8, 2008) Steele Johnson (Carmel, Ind.), Kassidy Cook
(The Woodlands, Texas) and Michelle Cabassol (Montgomery, Texas) captured their
second junior national titles of the meet on Friday at the 2008 Speedo Junior National Diving Championships. Other winners included Grace Fulwider (Brownsburg, Ind.), Grayson Campbell (Vienna, Va.) and Michael Hixon (Amherst, Mass.).

The Starz Diving Club's Johnson claimed the gold in the boys 12-13 platform event by a 35 point margin over silver medalist Mark Anderson (Lake Forest, Calif.) of the Mission Viejo Nadadores. Johnson finished with 350.70 points to Anderson's 315.70 points. Dashiell Enos (Studio City, Calif.) of the Trojan Dive Club took the bronze with 312.20 points.

In the girls 12-13 3-meter event, the Woodlands Diving Academy's Cook claimed the gold with 331.15 points. It was Cook's fourth junior national title of her young career. Sarah Bacon (Indianapolis, Ind.) of the Starz Diving Club picked up her second silver medal of the meet by finishing with 307.60 points and Gracia Leydon-Mahoney (Newton, Mass.) took the bronze with 301.00 points.

Hixon pulled away from the field in the boys 14-15 3-meter event to capture the gold by 24 points over runner up Alexander Fincher (North Richland Hills, Texas). Hixon finished with 430.45 points to Finsher's 406.10 points. Montgomery Dive Club's Timothy Faerber (Potomac, Md.) claimed the bronze with 400.60 points.

In the girls 14-15 1-meter event, the Woodlands Diving Academy's Cabassol topped her teammate Kaylea Arnett (Spring, Texas) for the second day in a row to win gold with 365.05 points. Arnett finished with 346.25 points to claim her second silver medal of the championships. San Antonio Divers' Kathryn Connolly (San Antonio, Texas) finished third with 339.70 points.

The Starz Diving Club's Fulwider took gold in the girls 11 and under platform event with 203.70 points. Eszter Pryor (New Albany, Ohio) of U.S. Elite Diving Academy captured the silver with 186.85 points and Whirlwind Diving's Elizabeth Fitzpatrick (Darien, Conn.) earned the bronze with 177.75 points.

In the boys 11 and under 1-meter event, Dominion Dive Club's Campbell captured the gold by 13 points over runner-up Ian Shelton (Vienna, Va.) of the Patriot Dive Club. The Soaring Eagles Dive Club's Bradley Butcher (East Berlin, Pa.) took the bronze with 212.75 points.