BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Purdue alumnus David Boudia was victorious on 10-meter at USA Diving's World Championship Trials Sunday to individually qualify for the FINA World Championships this summer in Russia.
Boudia dominated the men's 10-meter contest, scoring 1544.05 points to win by nearly 200 points. Boudia earned two 10s on his last dive, a back 2 1/2 with 2 1/2 twists that scored 102.60 points, and the Olympic champion scored more than 90 points on two other dives in the final.
Steele Johnson finished in third place in the 10-meter competition with a score of 1341.30, just 12 points behind 17-year-old David Dinsmore for the USA's final individual spot in the event at the World Championships.
Johnson did qualify for World Championships in synchronized 10-meter after he and Boudia won at USA Diving's Synchro Nationals last month in Florida. They'll compete together in upcoming FINA Diving World Series meets in Canada and Mexico before focusing on the World Championships.
Boudia won silver in the individual 10-meter competition at the 2011 and 2013 World Championships. Johnson will be competing at the World Championships for the first time.
In all, 16 divers will represent the United States at the World Championships after USA Diving's trials came to a close Sunday at Indiana University's Councilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center.
Meanwhile, Purdue's Mary Beth Dunnichay was officially selected for the U.S. roster at the Pan American Games this summer in Toronto. She qualified in synchronized 10-meter with partner Delaney Schnell at the synchro nationals last month. Dunnichay was an Olympian in 2008 and won a bronze medal in synchronized 10-meter at the 2007 Pan Am Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Boudia, Amy Cozad, Michael Hixon, Jessica Parratto and Laura Ryan had already qualified for the World Championships and will now compete in a second event in Kazan, Russia. Darian Schmidt and Dinsmore added their names to the World Championships roster after qualifying for their first events.
Boudia and Cozad won the individual 10-meter events, while Hixon and Ryan were first in the individual 3-meter events. Parratto and Dinsmore were second on 10-meter, while Schmidt was second on 3-meter.
Scores were cumulative over three lists of dives, and Hixon and Schmidt entered Sunday's 3-meter final in second and third place before moving into first and second late in the finals.
Hixon won with 1352.30 points, while Schmidt was second at 1304.34. Hixon took the lead after round three of the finals when he scored 91 points on a reverse 1 1/2 with 3 1/2 twists. He followed with 94.50 points on a reverse 3 1/2 tuck in round four and then added 102.60 points a reverse 4 1/2 tuck in round five before closing out his list with a 76.50-point inward 3 1/2 tuck. Hixon will also dive 1-meter at worlds.
As for the front 4 1/2, which all but secured his victory, Hixon said he knew it would score high but admitted he almost scrapped it for the easier front 3 1/2 pike.
Schmidt was in third place and just 2.1 points behind Kristian Ipsen with two rounds to go. Schmidt came through with 91.20 points on his fifth-round front 4 1/2 tuck while Ipsen missed his reverse 3 ½ tuck for 47.25 points in that same round, allowing Schmidt to move to second. Ipsen ultimately finished fourth with 1262.60 points, while Troy Dumais was third at 1269.60.
Cozad scored 1017.05 points over three lists of dives to win the women's 10-meter, while Parratto was second with 1009.25 points. They were first and second heading into the finals and stayed consistent throughout to maintain their positions. Cozad's best dive in the finals was her armstand double back with 1 1/2 twists, which earned 75.20 points, while Parratto scored more than 70 points on three of her dives in the final. They will also compete 10-meter synchro for Team USA at worlds.
Ryan, who previously qualified in 3-meter synchro, won the women's 3-meter event after finishing with 891.25 points on her three lists. Although her preliminary and semifinal lists scored higher, she was steady and maintained her lead to qualify for worlds individually after already making the team in synchronized 3-meter. She started off the finals with 67.50 points on her back 2 1/2 pike for her best marks of the day.
Deidre Freeman finished second with 853.30 points, but did not make the qualifying score of 870 points needed to be selected to the team.
The World Championships are July 24-August 2 in Kazan, Russia, and will be the first major opportunity for countries to qualify spots for the 2016 Olympic Games.
-- Story by Jew Lowery, USA Diving
WLFI TV caught up with Boudia & Johnson before World Championship Trials
Men's 10-meter (Final)
1. David Boudia, 1544.05
2. David Dinsmore, 1353.55
3. Steele Johnson, 1341.30
4. Zachary Cooper, 1210.35
5. Addison Boschult, 885.20
USA Diving roster for 2015 FINA World Championships
Men's 1-meter
Kristian Ipsen
Michael Hixon
Men's 3-meter
Michael Hixon
Darian Schmidt
Men's 10-meter
David Boudia
David Dinsmore
Women's 1-meter
Samantha Pickens
Ariel Rittenhouse
Women's 3-meter
Laura Ryan
Women's 10-meter
Amy Cozad
Jessica Parratto
Men's synchronized 3-meter
Kristian Ipsen & Sam Dorman
Women's synchronized 3-meter
Abby Johnston & Laura Ryan
Men's synchronized 10-meter
David Boudia & Steele Johnson
Women's synchronized 10-meter
Amy Cozad & Jessica Parratto
Mixed synchronized 3-meter
Abby Johnston & Jordan Windle
Mixed synchronized 10-meter
Samantha "Murphy" Bromberg & Mark Anderson