Lake Forest College diver Heath Ogawa was named NCAA Division III Diver of the Year on Saturday for his performance in Wednesday's 3-meter competition and Friday's 1-meter event. The award is sponsored by the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America.
Ogawa, a junior making his third appearance at the national meet, claimed his first career title off the 3-meter board on Wednesday. He earned 573.60 points on his 11 dives, 20 more than the runner-up. The first place finish was just the second at an NCAA Championship Meet for the Forester men's program, joining Daniel Tarkowski's co-championship in the 100-freestyle in 1994. Three Forester women have combined for four national titles, Kendall Swett in the 3-meter competition in 2006, Lynn Adami in both events in 1982, and Chris Carlo off the 1-meter board in 1981. Swett was also named CSCAA Diver of the Year.
Ogawa added a second All-American performance in Friday's 1-meter competition, where he was fewer than 12 points off the lead in third place with a mark of 515.40.
His scoring total in the two events combined was the highest of any of the 24 divers, as were the 36 team points he earned as Lake Forest's only competitor at the meet. The Foresters were tied-for-21st in the standings, their best finish since placing 19th in 1994.
