Centre junior Sarah Hayhurst of Newburgh, Indiana (Near Evansville) had the meet of her life at Friday evening’s 1m diving competition at the 2017 NCAA Division III Championships. Hayhurst scored 445.75 points in the finals to take second place and earn her second All-American recognition of her junior campaign.
The most consistent event for Hayhurst all season long was the 1m board and it proved to be the most consistent at the national finals as well, as Hayhurst sat in second place after this afternoon’s preliminary rounds after scoring 444.25 points.
Hayhurst finished just 30 points shy of national champion Maura Sticco-Ivins of Wellesley. Vivian Zhou of MIT finished in third place with 434.80 points.
Hayhurst has now been named an All-American on five separate occasions throughout her Centre diving career, and the second place finish tonight on the 1m board marks the best finish ever for Hayhurst at an NCAA event. 2017 also marks the second year in a row that Hayhurst has been a two-time All-American.
It is also the closest an individual Centre student-athlete has come to a national championship since Emily Bachert posted a runner-up finish at the 2012 NCAA Women’s Golf Championship.
The 2017 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships are not over yet for Centre, as junior Logan Oatman (Paducah, Ky.) will race in his third event of the championship meet, his signature event, the 200-yard backstroke. Oatman currently ranks tenth in the nation in this event and the top eight times will earn All-American recognition.
Sarah is the granddaughter of Ham and Jean Struewing of Batesville.
Courtesy of WRBI’s Jack Smith and Centre College Athletics.