Staff
Molly Carlson is just getting started, which should make plenty of other NCAA divers pretty nervous for the next three years.
The Fort Frances native concluded her freshman season with the Florida State Seminoles in emphatic fashion last week at the NCAA Division 1 women’s swimming and diving championships in Indianapolis.
Carlson’s 14th-place finish in the platform event (241.25 points) was good enough to secure an All-American honourable mention to cap a terrific first season with the Seminoles.
She also had a 28th-place finish in the 3m event (285.10) and a 31st-place result in the 1m event (253.40).
“It was cool to qualify for all three events and end up with an All-American honourable mention on platform on the last day,” Carlson enthused.
“NCAAs was a new experience, that’s for sure,” she noted.
“I didn’t do as well as I hoped,” Carlson admitted. “But that’s to be expected as a freshman competing with internationals and Olympians that are the best 50 from across colleges in America.”
“She had a solid day,” Seminoles’ head diving coach John Proctor said at www.seminoles.com about Carlson after the platform event.
“I think she and [fellow first-year Seminole Ayla Bonniwell] did a great job with training and competing this season, as well as handling the stress that goes along with competing at NCAAs,” he noted.
Carlson was 11th after her preliminary dives in the platform event–grabbing a spot in the finals after her back 2.5 tuck dive scored 62.35 points and her reverse 2.5 somersault tuck earned 58.80.
She was eighth after her first two dives in the finals, then had her last three dives record more than 50 points.
“Molly is a gamer,” Proctor lauded. “She thrives in competition and it’s always impressive to see a freshman making it to NCAA.
“She has flourished in her first season as a Seminole.”
