Three Saint John's divers – senior Jack Grabinski, senior Connor Reed and sophomore Eli Grabinski – compete at the NCAA Central Regional this Friday and Saturday, Feb. 24-25, at the University of Chicago's Myers-McLoraine Pool. – Live Results | Live Video | Regional Website

THE SCHEDULE
-Friday, Feb. 24: 1-meter dive at 5:15 p.m. 
-Saturday, Feb. 25: 3-meter dive at 4 p.m.

HOW THEY QUALIFIED: To qualify for one of the four NCAA Diving Regionals, a student-athlete must meet one of the following criteria:

1. Achieve the qualifying standard at least twice on the same board during the qualification period; or
2. Once at his/her conference championship meet on either board.

The qualifying standard for the men on the 1-meter dive was 275 for six dives and 425 for 11, and 285 for six dives and 440 for 11 on the 3-meter board.

Sophomore Eli Grabinski (Sauk Rapids, Minn./Sauk Rapids-Rice), senior Jack Grabinski (Sauk Rapids, Minn./Sauk Rapids-Rice) and senior Connor Reed (Elk River, Minn./Spectrum) surpassed the regional-qualifying marks in the 1-meter dive at the MIAC Championships, while Eli and Reed did so on the 3-meter board. Jack qualified in the 3-meter dive following his performances at dual meets vs. Carleton (Jan. 21) and Gustavus Adolphus (Jan. 28).

MIAC AWARDS: Two Saint John's student-athletes – sophomore Eli Grabinski (Sauk Rapids, Minn./Sauk Rapids-Rice) and freshman Carsten Reuter (St. Cloud, Minn./Tech) – received MIAC awards this afternoon (Feb. 23). Grabinski was named the MIAC Men's Diver of the Year for the second-consecutive season and Reuter was named the MIAC Men's Co-Rookie of the Year.

Grabinski won the 3-meter dive (476.10) for the second-consecutive season and finished second (465.50), to his older brother Jack Grabinski (Sauk Rapids, Minn./Sauk Rapids-Rice), in the 1-meter dive as the Johnnies finished second out of six teams Feb. 15-18 at the 2023 MIAC Championships. 

Reuter was All-MIAC (top three) in four events at his first conference meet. He finished third (46.00) in the 100-yard freestyle, fifth (21.12) in the 50-yard freestyle and sixth in the 100-yard butterfly (51.22). His time in the 100 Fly was the second-fastest by a freshman in SJU history, while the time in the 100 Free was fourth. Reuter served as the Johnnies' first leg on the 200- (1:22.31) and 400-yard (3:04.53) freestyle relays, and the second on the 800-yard freestyle relay (6:48.30). All three relays claimed second at the meet. SJU's times in the 200 and 800 were program records, while the 400 missed it by 0.07 of a second.

LAST YEAR'S REGIONAL: Eli finished 10th out of 27 divers in the 3-meter dive (433.60) and 18th out of 30 participants in the 1-meter dive (389.55) at last year's NCAA Central Regional hosted by Calvin in Grand Rapids, Mich. Reed was 18th in the 3-meter dive (396.05) and 22nd on the 1-meter board (355.20). 

THREE YEARS AGO: Jack earned a trip to the NCAA Championships with a fourth-place finish in the 3-meter dive at the 2020 NCAA Central Regional held on the campus of Denison in Granville, Ohio. He also took seventh on the 1-meter board the following day. The top eight in each event advanced to the national meet. The national meet was not held, however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

TIE-BREAKERS AT THE REGIONAL: In the event of a tie between two or more divers from a regional qualifying meet, the tie will be broken by comparing each of the diver's total optional score on the board in which the tie has occurred. The diver with the highest total optional score would have the higher finishing position at their regional event. In the event there is a tie on the total optional score, the tie will be broken by the higher place on the opposite board. If one competitor is not competing on the opposite board, the competitor who is competing on the opposite board automatically will receive the higher selection position. All ties must be broken prior to diving qualifications/allocations being identified.

QUALIFYING FOR THE NATIONAL MEET: When all results are made final, including any tie-breakers, the allocated spots will be determined as follows (refer to the Diving Selection Criteria for the allocation formula):

1. First-place finishers from each board will be selected, using two of the allocated spots. If the
same person finishes first on both boards, only one allocation will be used for that athlete.

2. Next, second-place finishers from each board will be selected, using two of the allocated spots. If
the same person finishes second on both boards, or one/both of the athletes have already been
selected, only one or no allocations will be used.

3. This will continue with each finishing spot (third, fourth, fifth, etc.) until all the allocated spots
have been assigned for each of the four regions.

4. If there is one allocation left and two divers who have not been selected are up for qualification,
finishing in the same ranking on each board, the committee will use the divers combined score
made up of their 1-meter and 3-meter scores. The competitor who has the highest score
will be invited to the meet, earning the final allocation.

WHAT'S NEXT: The NCAA Central Regional will be allocated nine male spots (down one from last year's 10), in each dive (see the qualifications above), for the 2023 NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Championships held March 15-18 at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro, N.C. The men's 1-meter dive begins with prelims at 10 a.m. ET Thursday, March 16, followed by finals at 6 p.m. ET. The 3-meter dive follows the same time schedule and will be held Saturday, March 18.