ROSEMONT, Ill. - Steele Johnson demonstrated his versatility with victories on 1-meter & the platforms Saturday vs. Indiana and was recognized for his efforts with his league-high sixth Big Ten Diver of the Week award of the season.
Johnson rallied to win both events, defeating a fellow 2016 Olympian in both instances. He had been focusing strictly on the springboard events in competition since the school year began, making Saturday's dual with the Hoosiers his first action on the platforms since the Olympics.
The two-time NCAA champion finished atop the leaderboards with list scores of 393.9 on 1-meter and 436.6 on the platforms. He got off to a bit of a slow start in both events, but finished strong. In the platform competition, he had the top score of each of the final three rounds, compiling an average score of 77.2 over the final three rounds in the process.
Johnson had the top score of the final four rounds of the 1-meter competition and he needed the consistent awards to overcome IU's Michael Hixon, who won the 1-meter title at the USA Diving Winter Nationals last month. Johnson trailed Hixon 135-108 after round two, but won the event by nine points after compiling an average score of 71.4 over the final four rounds and outscoring Hixon 145.5-126.35 over the final two rounds.
Check out video of @Steele_Johnson rallying for a sweep of his diving events in Saturday's dual vs. IU. #BoilerUp https://t.co/Gaf8VJz4rm
-- Purdue Swim-Dive (@PurdueMSwimDive) January 24, 2017
As a freshman in 2014-15, Johnson was also recognized as the Big Ten Diver of the Week six times. He'll have to wait until next season to continue his pursuit of David Boudia's conference-record 20 career Diver of the Week honors. Around the league this season, no other diver has been recognized more than twice.
Highlighted by his 3-meter title at the Winter Nationals in December, Johnson has won 14 of the 16 events in which he has competed this season. His runner-up finish to Hixon on 1-meter at Winter Nationals still earned him a Team USA berth in the event at the World Championships this summer in Budapest, Hungary. Johnson also finished third on 3-meter behind teammates Brandon Loschiavo and Joe Cifelli at the season-opening dual vs. Miami (Ohio), an event in which he led through five rounds but was penalized with a failed dive in the final round.
Platform diving will be featured again Saturday of this weekend as the Boilermakers host the Big Ten Triple Duals vs. Minnesota and Northwestern. However, it will be contested as an exhibition and not count toward the team scoring. Both genders will compete from the springboards Friday.
And the top competition of the college season is quickly approaching as Johnson and the Purdue divers continue to train for the Big Ten Championships (Feb. 22-25 in Columbus), Zone C Championships (March 9-11 in Bloomington) and NCAA Championships (March 23-25 in Indianapolis). All three meets will be held in familiar aquatic centers.