Forester senior Heath Ogawa captured his second career national championship by taking the 1-meter diving competition on Thursday at the NCAA Division III Championship Meet in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Watch Highlights on NCAA.com (beginning at 3:05 mark)
Ogawa, who won the 3-meter event and was named Division III Diver of the Year in 2018, posted a score of 537.65 in Thursday's finals to win the event by more than 20 points.
The eventual champion was also in first place with 499.20 points after the afternoon prelims but entered the evening in second because only the scores from the five voluntary dives carry over to the finals, which consists of six rounds of optional dives. He fell into third place after the first of those rounds before vaulting into the lead with a score of 58.50 on his next attempt, a forward two-and-a-half somersault in the pike position. Ogawa's lead grew with scores of 63.00 and 67.50 in the next two rounds and he all but clinched the victory with a reverse two-and-a-half somersault in the tuck position that impressed everyone in attendance and netted him 71.30 points, the highest score of anyone on the day. He easily surpassed the 14 points necessary on his final dive to claim the title.
Ogawa is now the first member of the program to win national championships in multiple seasons.
After a day off, Ogawa will attempt to defend his title off the 3-meter board on Saturday. The prelims of the event are scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m.
