BYU divers traveled to northern Arizona this week to compete in the NCAA Zone E Diving Championships, one of the final qualifying meets for the NCAA Championships.
The three-day meet, held March 9–11 in Flagstaff, featured top divers from across the western United States competing for limited qualifying spots at the national championship meet.
Unlike swimmers, collegiate divers cannot qualify for the NCAA championships at conference meets. Instead, divers must first earn a qualifying score during the season before competing at the Zone Championships, where NCAA berths are awarded.
BYU freshman Brooklyn Goeckeritz highlighted the meet for the Cougars on the women’s side. She advanced to the final of the women’s 1-meter championship, finishing 18th overall with a score of 489.85.
Goeckeritz also competed in the women’s 3-meter event, placing 42nd in the preliminary round.
On the men’s side, Martí Llop represented BYU in multiple events. Llop placed 13th in the men’s 3-meter preliminaries with a score of 328.85 before later finishing 15th in the men’s platform final, scoring 619.90.
The Zone E Championships included divers from several of the top programs in the region, including Stanford Cardinal, USC Trojans, UCLA Bruins, Utah Utes, and Arizona Wildcats.
Stanford’s Molly Gray won the women’s 3-meter championship with 666.10 points, while Utah’s Callie Eaglestone captured the women’s 1-meter title with 574.45 points.
The Zone Championships serve as one of the most competitive meets of the collegiate diving postseason, determining which athletes advance to the NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships.
Although BYU did not secure a qualifying position, the Cougars gained valuable postseason experience competing against some of the top diving programs in the country.