KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Aiming for spot in the NCAA Championships for a fourth time, Conner Pruitt dialed up a stellar effort to ensure himself a spot in Minneapolis at the end of the month. A fourth-place finish on the 1-meter earned the Opelika, Alabama native a trip to NCAAs and now just needs a top-12 effort on the 3-meter Monday to add a second event to his list.
Pruitt began the day firing a solid 360.60 in his first six dives to move on to his second list in the afternoon. The Auburn graduate averaged north of 60 points across all six of his final dives, including a 73.60 in his penultimate effort to move up to fourth.
The trip to Minnesota will mark Conner's this appearance at the NCAA Championship. He qualified in all three disciplines in 2020 but the meet was canceled due to COVID. All four times Pruitt has qualified for the NCAA Championships, he's included the 1-meter in his list.
Whit Andrus pieced together a 295.00 in prelims, finishing 21st overall. Meanwhile, teammate Hunter Kebler grabbed 28th with a 277.90.
QUOTES FROM THE WELL
Head diving coach, Jeff Shaffer
"Very pleased with how we started today. Conner obviously performed very well and had a couple of dives in the 70's which was very exciting to see moving forward. Finishing fourth and hitting the qualifying mark certainly sets him up well for the 3-meter tomorrow.
"The others all had some quality dives but left the door open on one or two things that prevented them from getting a second list. Overall, it was an encouraging day. On paper, we tend to get better as we go up in height, so I am excited to see what tomorrow will bring!"
UP NEXT
Monday morning brings the Women's 1-meter. Prelims are scheduled for 10 a.m. CT with finals directly following and will be streamed live on the SEC Network+.
The men will jump to the 3-meter on Monday. Prelims are slated for 3 p.m. CT and will also be streamed on the SEC Network+.