Murdock advances in National Diving Championships

Wyoming diver Mark Murdock competed at the 2009 AT&T National Diving Championship in Tallahassee, Fla. and qualified for the final round on the platform event.

Murdock qualified for the championships in the preliminary round earlier this summer. Friday in the quarterfinal round, Murdock placed 16th with a score of 311.80 which was good enough to advance to the semifinals. In the next round, Murdock continued to dive well and advanced to the finals after posting a score of 335.05 points.

"Mark has been training really well and it is a huge accomplishment for him. No other Cowboy diver has gone this far so it is a special thing," said UW diving coach Ben Herdt. "Mark is diving against elite competition and has exploded onto the national scene. This is a huge stepping stone for him and Wyoming diving."

Murdock will be competing in the final round for a chance to compete in the U.S. Olympic Trials. Diving will continue tomorrow in Tallahassee, Fla.

Complete results can be found at www.divemeets.com.