The NC State diving team kicked off 2019 with a strong showing at the Georgia Diving Invitational, as junior Madeline Kline collected a first-place finish in the women’s platform dive and junior James Brady finished third on platform on the men’s side.
The event started Friday and finished up Sunday, as Kline and Brady took home their podium finishes during Sunday’s platform finals. Kline scored 255.70 points to win gold in the platform, beating Missouri’s Sarah Rousseau by .55 points.
Brady scored 343.40 points in the men’s platform final, finishing half a point behind the second-place finisher. Brady comfortably finished in third place, beating out the next-closest competitor by almost 40 points.
“Today was an awesome day on platform,” head diving coach Yahya Radman told NC State Athletics. “Our divers did well today. I’m proud of how they performed. It was another fun outing, and we’re excited to get back to Raleigh to continue working and preparing for the remainder of our season and the postseason.”
Sophomore Holt Gray and senior Stewart Spanbauer also competed in the men’s platform Sunday, finishing 11th and 14th, respectively. On the women’s side, freshman Michelle Schlossmacher Smith placed 22nd in the platform and freshman Taylor Bennett finished 27th.
Gray, Spanbauer and Brady also competed in the 3-meter dive, with Gray qualifying for the finals after finishing 12th in prelims. Gray improved on that for the finals, scoring 353.75 points to place fifth.
In the women’s 1-meter dive, Kline reached the finals after placing seventh in the prelims. Kline matched Gray’s 3-meter finish, placing fifth in the 1-meter with a score of 281.65.
On the opening day of competition, both Gray and Brady reached the finals of the men’s 1-meter dive. Brady scored 326 points to finish in fifth place, while Gray’s score of 309.60 was good for seventh.
In the women’s 3-meter dive, no member of the Pack made the finals. Kline led the way for NC State in the prelims of the event, finishing 19th.
The divers will rejoin the swimmers for the Pack’s first event of the season at home in the Casey Aquatic Center, as NC State will host rival UNC-Chapel Hill for a dual meet on Jan. 19.
