Deon Reid, a student at Poly High School and a member of Long Beach-based dive team McCormick Divers, is competing in the 2011 USA Diving Spring Junior West National Championships next month. Photo courtesy of McCormick Divers.
4:01pm | Long Beach-based McCormick Divers has announced that three of its young athletes are headed to the 2011 USA Diving Spring Junior West National Championships next month.
Top Long Beach diver Deon Reid of Bixby Knolls qualified with a third-place finish on 1- and 3-meter springboard in the boys’ 16- to 18-year-old category. Right behind Reid is Brandon Loschiavo, who earned a trip to nationals with a second-place finish on 1-meter and fourth-place on 3-meter springboard in the boys 14- to 15-year-old competitions. And 8-year-old Jenna Sonnenberg, also of Long Beach, nailed her trip to nationals with a fourth-place finish in the girls 3-meter springboard competition.
A Long Beach Poly High School junior, Reid earned more than 50 points on three dives on the 3-meter board. His highest score on 3-meter was 60.20 points on the reverse two-and-one-half somersault dive. His highest score on 1-meter was 55.90 points on his front two-and-one-half somersault dive.
Loschiavo, a seventh-grader at Dwyer Middle School in Huntington Beach, earned 45.10 points on 1-meter with a front one-and-one-half somersault with a full twist. His highest score on 3-meter was 44 points with a front two-and-one-half somersault.
McCormick Divers’ other top place winner was Sonnenberg. She received top marks for her reverse dive tuck and front one-and-one-half somersault pike and is set to compete in the 11 and under category at the championship competition.
The diving team practices at Belmont Plaza Olympic Pool.
The championship competition is slated for April 8 – 10 in Lubbock, Texas.
Editor’s note: This story previously stated incorrectly that 8-year-old Sonnenberg was too young to compete in the national championship games because the competition starts with the 12- to 13-year-old category. This was based on information provided by McCormick Divers that is also posted on the team’s website, McCormickDivers.com/newsite. The championships, however, feature an 11 and under category, according to an event program, and Sonnenberg is, in fact, traveling to Texas with Reid and Loschiavo to compete. The Long Beach Post apologizes for the error.
Long Beach resident Jenna Sonnenberg, 8, a member of McCormick Divers, arches into a reverse dive tuck, one of two dives in the girls 3-meter springboard competition that secured her trip to compete in the 2011 USA Diving Spring Junior West National Championships next month. Photo courtesy of Lesley Sonnenberg.
Brandon Loschiavo, a member of Long Beach-based dive team McCormick Divers, is competing in the 2011 USA Diving Spring Junior West National Championships next month. Photo courtesy of McCormick Divers.