Sports Writer
Midland might be considered an out-of-the way venue for a national athletic competition, but when an Olympic gold medalist like Laura Wilkinson has been regularly crossing paths with the Tall City for the past decade, the rest of the country has to take notice.
Wilkinson is one of the main attractions of the U.S. Open diving meet which begins its competition today at Mabee Aquatic Center and runs through Sunday evening. This is the first meet Wilkinson will be competing in since she had surgery on her right wrist following the 2004 Olympics.
For Wilkinson, a Houston native, spending a week in Midland could be a comfortable situation.
"I'm happy I can at least compete again," Wilkinson said. "I just haven't seen everybody in so long."
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Wilkinson, who won the 2000 gold medal in the platform competition, is competing in the 3-meter because she doesn't want to risk reinjuring her wrist by diving off the platform. Midland seems like the right place for Wilkinson to return to competitive diving.
She made her Midland debut a decade ago as a 17-year old at the junior national meet at Mabee. Also, Wilkinson came to Midland for an exhibition meet with the 2000 U.S. Olympic team and came here last fall with the 2004 team.
The latter event was unique since it came after the Athens Olympics and was the only post-Olympic appearance made by the entire U.S. team. That left an impact on Wilkinson.
"This is a great athletic facility," Wilkinson said of Mabee. "Midland may be a small town compared to a lot of other places, but they get the public so involved to come out and support us here. It's better than a lot of other places."
On Wednesday, Wilkinson didn't show much competitive rust in the 3-meter, as she posted the top qualifying score with a 270.30, almost 19 points ahead of second-place Carrie McCambridge. The prelims, semifinals and finals for the women's 3-meter will all take place Sunday.
Coming to Midland to go through qualifiers for a national meet might seem unusual for somebody who's won an Olympic gold medal. Wilkinson admits that it's new territory for her.
"It's a different event and I haven't done it for a long time," Wilkinson said. "It's like a new beginning for me."
Diving-wise, there aren't a whole lot of new worlds for Wilkinson to conquer. It would be easy for her to take her gold medal and settle into a nice celebrity life as an ex-Olympian making special appearances and motivational speeches.
But Wilkinson isn't ready to get out of the competitive cycle yet. She's looking ahead to a World Games selection camp which will be chosen largely off results from this week at Mabee.
"You've always got to get your meets throughout the year to get in that mode for world competition," Wilkinson said. "I've definitely decided I want to compete throughout 2008."
That's when the next summer Olympics are scheduled for Beijing, and if Wilkinson qualifies, she'll pull off that rare feat of making three separate U.S. Olympic teams.
Wilkinson knows that no matter what she accomplishes the rest of her life that her name will usually be preceded by three words -- Olympic gold medalist. She considers that a mixed blessing.
"It looks good on your resume," Wilkinson said of a gold medal. "It's embarrassing when my friends mention it in front of people I don't know."
As good as her resume might look, Wilkinson wouldn't mind if it were at least another line longer. She thinks at this stage of her career she's competing against herself as much as anybody else.
"I don't feel I have to prove myself to anybody else," Wilkinson said. "I still don't think I've fulfilled my potential yet."
The stakes of the meet become official today when both the men's and women's 3-meter and 10-meter synchronized events are held. The women's and men's 3-meter are scheduled for 5 and 6 p.m. respectively, while the women's and men's 10-meter are scheduled for 7 and 8 p.m. respectively.
A local flavor will be provided in the women's 3-meter synchro, as City of Midland divers Erin Savas and Ashley Beal will compete. After Wednesday's qualifier, Savas and Beal are in third with 227.16 points, only 12 points out of first place.
U.S. Open Qualifying
Thursday's results
Men's 3-meter springboard (top 17 advance to U.S. Open) -- 1. Aaron Ashworth, Alabama Diving, 358.41; 2. Jevon Tarantino, University of Tennessee, 353.37; 3. Kellen Harkness, unattached, 349.08; 4. John Collier, unattached, 345.03; 5. Landon Marzullo, U.S. Elite Diving Academy, 320.94; 6. Dennis Nemsbanov, unattached, 315.18; 7. Stewart Smith, Alabama Diving, 310.44; 8. Jason Coben, Legacy Diving Team, 308.61; 9. Brian Mariano, Indiana University, 307.14; 10. Nick Hanneman, U.S. Elite Diving Academy, 301.26; 11. Brandon Watson, Mountain West Diving Club, 300.66; 12. Aaron Feight, Mile High Dive Club, 295.02; 13. J.J. Kinzbach, Woodlands Dive Team, 293.58; 14. Dan Rybalko, Harvard University, 281.73; 15. Matthew Cooper, Montgomery Dive Club, 280.68; 16. Jeremy Stultz, unattached, 279.81; 17. Cassidy Lynch, Sagebrush Diving, 274.11; 18. Sean Sydes, Mustangs in the Sun, 274.11; 19. Michael Alderman, Penn State University, 268.53; 20. Alex Tilbrook, Florida State University, 264.06; 21. Brent Eichenseer, U.S. Elite Diving Academy, 254.07; 22. Josh Karshen, unattached, 246.15; 23. Mike Wong, Pacific Diving Academy, 244.92; 24. Alan Harris, Alabama Diving, 243.21; 25. Aaron Fleshner, Woodlands Diving Team, 243.21; 26. David Colturi, Legacy Diving Team, 231.21; 27. Ryan Jefferson, Mad City Divers, 224.85; 28. Matt Culbertson, COM Aquatics, 221.64; 29. Daniel Frebel, Northern Indiana Diving, 209.88; 30. Drew Brown, Mile High Dive Club, 201.21.
Women's platform (top 20 advance to U.S. Open) -- 1. Courtney McClow, Florida State University, 245.19; 2. Whitney Wielgus, Woodlands Diving Team, 242.55; 3. Carrie McCambridge, unattached, 236.10; 4. Kara Cook, Woodlands Diving Team, 236.10; 5. Peggy Kearns, Trojan Dive Club, 235.53; 6. Heather Bounds, University of Miami, 227.13; 7. Ali Tycast, unattached, 224.43; 8. Meg Hostage, Montgomery Dive Club, 217.80; 9. Lindsay Draper, unattached, 213.93; 10. Ariel Rittenhouse, Trojan Dive Club, 213.30; 11. Christina Loukas, Indiana University, 210.36; 12. Amanda Miller, unattached, 206.37; 13. Janine Strack, UCLA Diving Team, 205.17; 14. Ashley Beal, COM Aquatics, 195.81; 15. Audra Egenolf, Indianapolis Regional Training Center, 189.15; 16. Ellis Walters, Indianapolis Regional Training Center, 185.70; 17. Katie Bell, U.S. Elite Academy, 184.86; 18. Morgan Erpenbeck, U.S. Elite Diving Academy, 175.02; 19. Ryanne Snuder, Pacific Diving Academy, 166.20; 20. Chelsea Sawyer, Trojan Dive Club, 158.46; 21. Monica Dodson, Indianapolis Regional Training Center, 142.80; 22. Kirsty Shepler, North Florida Diving, 128.73.
Men's 3-meter synchro (all divers advance to U.S. Open) -- 1. Jevon Tarantino-Phillip Jones, 286.08; 2. Stewart Smith-aaron Ashworth, 253.23; 3. Dennis Nemstanov-Dan Rybalko, 219.12; 4. Aaron Feight-Cassidy Lynch, 205.14.
Women's platform synchro (all divers advance to U.S. Open) -- 1. Kara Cook-Whitney Wielgus, 235.08; 2. Audra Egenolf-Ellis Walters, 199.62; 3. Monica Dodson-Brittney Feldman, 178.08.