INDIANAPOLIS - Tufts University sophomore diver Johann Schmidt (Nanuet, NY) won the Jumbo men's swimming & diving program's first national title in 30 years on Friday night when he captured the 2012 NCAA Div. III one-meter diving national championship.
Competing at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), Schmidt recorded a score of 527.35 points in the one-meter finals to defeat second-place Gabe Dixon from Denison (506.30) by more than 20 points. Schmidt is the first Jumbo national champion since 1982, when Keith Miller won the NCAA three-meter diving title and Jim Lilley was the national champion in the 100 butterfly.
In a sign of things to come, Schmidt had the best score of 497.90 in the one-meter preliminaries on Friday morning. On Wednesday at the NCAA meet, he had placed fifth in the three-meter event to earn All-American honors (top eight). He scored 490.95 points in the three-meter final after a 507.55 total in the prelims. Though he has traditionally performed better in the three-meter event, on Friday he put it all together to win off the one-meter board.
In his second NCAA appearance, Schmidt now owns three All-American awards and one honorable mention All-American honor. In addition to his first in the one-meter and fifth in three-meter this year, he was sixth in three-meter and 12th in one-meter last season. He is also the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) champion off both boards two years in a row (2011, 2012).
Senior co-captain Owen Rood (Branford, CT) also had a good performance for the Jumbos on Friday. Entered in the 100 breaststroke, he finished 22nd with a time of 57.57 seconds that was much better than his 58.82 seed time. A four-time national qualifier and nine-time honorable mention All-American, this marked the first time that Rood swam a stroke different than the freestyle at the NCAA meet.
Rood was also in action on Wednesday. He missed qualifying for the final in the 50 freestyle by the narrowest of margins. Rood's time of 20.67 seconds tied for 17th, with only the top 16 advancing to the final. The 16th place time of 20.66 by Johns Hopkins University's Dylan Coggin was 0.01 faster than Rood's.
Tomorrow, Rood has a final chance to earn All-American honors straight up when he swims in the 100 freestyle. He is the sixth seed with a 45.03 qualifying time.
With the 34 points scored by Schmidt in the diving events, Tufts is in 20th place as a team entering the final day of the NCAA meet on Saturday.
NCAA Results
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