TUCSON, Ariz. – Team USA saved its best day for last, winning two golds, two silver and two bronze on Sunday, the final day of competition at the UANA Junior Pan American Diving Championships. In all, the U.S. won 20 medals, second only to Mexico, which won 33 medals, including 16 gold.
On Sunday, Tarrin Gilliland (Liberty Hill, Texas) won her second gold of the championships with a win in the 11-and-under girls platform contest, and Emily Grund (Keller, Texas) won the 12-13 girls 3-meter event. Grace Cable(Winter Park, Fla.) joined Grund on the podium with silver in the same event, and Steele Johnson (Carmel, Ind.) was the silver medalist in the boys 16-18 platform event. Grayson Campbell (Vienna, Va.) won his second medal of the meet with a bronze in the boys 14-15 3-meter event, and Brooke Schultz (Fayetteville, Ark.) and Emma Villarreal (McGregor, Texas) were third in synchronized 3-meter.
Gilliland scored 257.80 to win the 11-and-under platform title after winning gold on 3-meter and bronze on 1-meter earlier in the week. With the three medals, she was also named the girls overall high point award winner for the meet. Mexico’s Melissa Mirafuentes and Scarlett Calderon finished second and third in the platform event.
“Today was awesome. It was pretty fun. Platform is my favorite event because I usually do good on it,” Gilliland said.
Grund scored 325.80 points for gold in the 12-13 3-meter contest to earn a trip to the podium in back-to-back Junior Pan Am meets. She was second on the event as an 11-and-under in 2011.
“I was really trying to go out there and put a good list together. If I didn’t medal, that’s OK. As long as I put a good list together, I will always be happy,” said Grund, who competed in three events for Team USA in Tucson.
Cable made her Junior Pan Am debut with 308.00 points for the 3-meter silver, with bronze going to Mexico’s Gabriela Agundez at 305.90.
“It feels great. All week I kept thinking about how I was going to do because the girls from Mexico are so good, and I had to wait until the last day to compete, so I was nervous. I pulled it out and just nailed every dive as best I could,” Cable said.
Johnson, who won platform gold at the previous three Junior Pan Ams and finished eighth on 3-meter earlier in the week, closed out his Junior Pan Am career with 552.05 points to finish with platform silver behind Venezuela’s Jesus Liranzo, who scored 587.65 points – including 91.20 points on an inward 3 ½ tuck that earned a 10 from one judge. Johnson scored just 55.20 points on his fifth-round armstand, his most difficult dive, but came back strong after that.
“I had a different mindset on platform than I did on 3-meter. On 3-meter, I was thinking I wanted to get a medal because this is my last Junior Pan Ams, and then I did really bad. I got up on platform and said I just want to dive as best I can and it doesn’t matter how I finish,” Johnson said. “I messed up my armstand and after that, I thought I may not medal now, but I still want to go out and rip the rest of my dives. Once I changed my mindset to just doing the dives as best I can instead of trying to get a medal, that’s when the performance starts to happen.”
Canada’s Philippe Gagne won the bronze, and David Dinsmore (New Albany, Ohio) took sixth.
Campbell won his second springboard bronze this week after scoring 421.55 points on 3-meter to finish behind Mexico’s Juan Celaya (459.20) and Colombia’s Kevin Garcia (433.30). Campbell also won the bronze on 1-meter and is now a four-time Junior Pan Am medalist after also winning a pair of medals in 2011. Jordan Windle (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Indianapolis, Ind.) finished eighth.
“Just being here was a great opportunity. Earning two bronze medals was awesome to represent my country like that. My 3-meter competition today, although it wasn’t my personal best, I’m happy with how I ended it. I did one of the best full outs of my life,” said Campbell, who finished his list with 66 points on that dive, good for his highest score of the day.
Schultz and Villarreal competed together internationally for the first time and scored 244.56 points to pick up the 3-meter synchro bronze. Mexico’s Paola Pineda and Carolina Mendoza won gold at 291.96, and Canada’s Melissa Citrini-Beaulieu and Frederique LaLonde were second at 258.96.
“This was my first Pan Ams and I had a lot fun with the team experience. It was awesome getting the bronze. Medaling here is something I’ll never forget,” Schultz said.
Villarreal agreed that the aspect of competing with Team USA is one of the best parts of the Junior Pan Am experience.
“Everybody’s cheering for you, and even if you miss a dive, your team is still there for you. It feels awesome. You can always do better, but it’s important to have fun and enjoy the experience. I learned a lot at this meet. I still get nervous, and I’m learning that I have to just treat a meet like an everyday practice,” Villarreal said.
Mexico’s Randal Willars swept the 11-and-under boys events after scoring 252.35 points to win gold on 1-meter on Sunday. Canada’s Jacob Zimmel and Colombia’s Leonardo Garcia won the silver and bronze. USA’s Jackson Miller(Southlake, Texas) and Kevin Mendez (Lighthouse Point, Fla.) were fourth and sixth.
Colombia’s Daniel Restrepo won the boys 12-13 1-meter gold with 315.80 points. Mexico’s Daniel Gomez took silver, and Canada’s Henry McKay took the bronze. Noah Duperre (New Albany, Ohio) was fourth for Team USA, andMax Flory (Fairfax, Va.) was 10th.
