RIVERSIDE, Calif.— On a rainy day in Southern California, the CSU Bakersfield men's and women's diving teams impressed at the Inland Empire Diving Invitational by winning three of four events.
For the women, junior Carlee Burks dominated the competition on Saturday by earning victories on both boards. The native of Bakersfield reset her personal best on the 1-meter board to open the competition. Burks scored 285.15 points and jumped from fifth all-time for the 'Runners in the event to third. She then went on to post a mark of 275.95 on the 3-meter, defeating the runner up by almost 30 points.
“Carlee dominated the 1-meter board with a new personal best,” said Ben Herboth, Bakersfield's diving coach, after Burks bested the rest of the field with the next closest competitor 24 points behind. “She nailed her reverse 2.5 somersaults, a dive very few women do in the country, which was the highlight of the entire event.”
Melissa Gore, a junior from Taft, Calif., also competed well for the 'Runners. Gore finished third in the 1-meter with a new personal best (251.60) and second in the 3-meter with her best mark of the season (248.20).
On the men's side, Brayden Greenwald, competing in only his second meet of the season after sitting out with a hand injury, finished second on the 3-meter. The sophomore from Henderson, Nev. reset his previous personal best by over 13 points with a score of 306.35 and earned a spot in the CSUB all-time Top 5.
“Brayden and Zach Mullins from Cal Baptist got in a real shootout on the 3-meter with Zach just getting the edge by two points,” Herboth said.
Tyler Greenwald scored 288.90 points in the men's 1-meter while earning a narrow, 1.25-point victory. The junior from Henderson, Nev. missed his personal best in the event by just five points, but increased his season best by over 30 points. His younger brother, Brayden, also scored a season best in the event (277.90) to finish fourth.
CSUB's Terrell Mauldin, a senior in his second season with the 'Runners, posted personal bests on both boards Saturday. The native of Murrieta, Calif. placed sixth in the 1-meter and fifth on the 3-meter scoring 248.60 and 264.95 points, respectively. For full results from Saturdays, open the linked PDF.
The Roadrunner divers will rejoin the swimmers in the New Year. CSUB's women will travel to Fresno State for a dual Jan. 3 before joining the men at a multi-team meet, Jan. 9, hosted by UC San Diego.
~GoRunners.com~
