Ohio State Divers to Compete at NCAA Regional Qualifier – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/9/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swim & Dive
March 9, 2004
The Ohio State diving squad will send eight Buckeyes to the NCAA Zone C Regional Qualifier March 12-14 in Bloomington, Ind. Roughly 30 to 40 schools will participate from around the region, with upwards of 50 divers competing in each event. Nine other regional qualifiers will take place across the country at the same time, with male divers finishing in the Top 4 and female divers finishing in the Top 6 most likely qualifying for the national championships in their respective events.
The men’s diving squad finished the dual-meet undefeated and concluded the conference meet with one championship title. Every Ohio State diver finished among the Top 16 in all events. One of the youngest squads in the Big Ten, the women’s squad lost only one event against a Big Ten team during the dual-meet season and had all four freshmen divers score points for the Buckeyes at the conference meet.
Head diving coach Vince Panzano earned his eighth Big Ten Diving Coach of the Year award at the conference meet and has led the Buckeyes to 45 Big Ten individual titles and 10 NCAA individual championships in his 29 years of coaching.
The men’s diving squad finished the conference meet with one championship title and four Top 8 finishes in the 3-meter dive and four Top 16 finishes in the 1- and 3-meter dive. The divers accounted for 113 points of the Buckeye total at the Big Ten meet, 44 points more than the second best diving squad.
Crowned 2004 Big Ten Champion in the 3-meter dive and named Big Ten Diver of the Year, Mitch Richeson (Jr., Greenwood, Ind./Greenwood) looks to build on his success at the Big Ten championships as he faces divers from around the region. Richeson was Ohio State’s only student-athlete to be named First Team All-Big Ten at the conference meet as he had top performances in the 1- and 3-meter dives. He secured the conference title in the 3-meter dive with a score of 653.75, defeating last years champion by more than 45 points and breaking the Big Ten diving championship meet record set in 1996. His score in the 3-meter dive was also a Boilermaker Aquatic Center pool record. Richeson placed second in the 1-meter dive with a score of 343.60 and posted a ninth-place finish in the platform dive with a score of 399.90. In the dual-meet season, Richeson enjoyed first-place finishes in every 1-meter dive he competed in and was named Big Ten Diver of the Week Jan. 3 after his double-win performance against Ohio.
Continuously improving at the Big Ten championships, Richeson was named Second Team All-Big Ten at the 2003 conference meet and has had second-place finishes in the 3-meter dive and second- and third-place finishes in the 1-meter dive at the 2003 and 2002 Big Ten Championships
Marc Dreyer (So., Port Elisabeth, South Africa/Grey) also had a strong Big Ten season, finishing in the Top 6 in every event during the dual-meet season and scoring in each event at the Big Ten championships. Dreyer placed fourth in the 3-meter dive, 10th in the 1-meter dive and 13th in the platform dive at the conference meet. Nick Hanneman (So., Upper Arlington, Ohio/Upper Arlington) also posted finishes in the Top 6 during the dual-meet season and finished seventh in the 3-meter dive, 11th in the 1-meter dive and a 14th in the platform dive at the conference meet.
Kellen Harkness (Fr., Puyallup, Wash./Cascade Christian) completed his freshman campaign with the Buckeyes posting two first-place finishes in the 3-meter dive during the dual-meet season and Top 16 finishes in the conference meet. Harkness placed sixth in the 3-meter dive, 12th in the 1-meter dive and 13th in the platform dive at the Big Ten meet.
Leading the youngest and most promising women’s diving squad in the Big Ten, Julie Broms (Fr., Springfield, Ill./North Central [Ind.]) finished second in the 3-meter dive with a score of 530.65 and fourth in the 1-meter dive with a score of 283.40 points at the 2004 conference meet. Broms had 13 first-place finishes in the 3-meter dive in her first season as a Buckeye and was named Big Ten Diver of the Week Feb. 10 after her performance at the Tennessee meet.
Amber Simmons (Fr., Sparks, Md./Hereford) earned her first dual-meet wins against Iowa and Illinois Jan. 24 in the 1-meter dive with a score of 302.40 and earned a third-place finish in the 1-meter dive at the Big Ten championships with a score of 283.40. Simmons also finished the platform dive in 14th place and the 3-meter dive in 19th place at the conference meet. Ashley Bourland (Fr., Conroe, Texas/Montgomery) earned her first win for the Buckeyes at the Ohio meet Jan. 3 in the 1-meter dive and finished the platform dive in fifth place, the 3-meter dive in 10th place and the 1-meter dive in 19th place at the conference meet.
Also adding to the Buckeyes’ diving squad, Anesa Beard (Fr., Franklin, Ind./Franklin Community) won her first event as a Buckeye in the 3-meter dive at the first meet of the season and placed 11th and 16th in the 3- and 1-meter dive at the conference meet.
“It’s a one-time deal with one dive in each event at the regional meet and there they pick who gets to go to the NCAA championships,” Panzano said. “If the divers can duplicate their performances from the Big Ten meet, I believe they will be able to qualify for the NCAA championships.”
Female divers that qualify for the national meet will travel to College Station, Texas, March 18-20, for the Women’s 2004 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships at the Student Recreation Center, while male divers who qualify will travel to Long Island, N.Y., March 25-27, for the Men’s NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships at the Nassau County Aquatic Center.
