Thatcher places 15th in Bobcat Diving Invite
Marshalltown junior Harlie Thatcher earned 15th place amongst a star-studded field at the Bobcat Diving Invite on Saturday at the Marshalltown YMCA/YWCA.
Forty-eight different competitors got 11 dives each during the day-long event. Defending state champion Camryn Russell of Grinnell got the top spot on Saturday, edging teammate Norah Nicol for the title. Russell racked up a score of 421.35 to beat Nicol (420.35) by a mere one-point margin.
Russell (first), Nicol (seventh) and third-place finisher Bailey Mahoney of Waukee Northwest (sixth) all finished on the podium at state last fall. In all, 14 returning state qualifiers competed in the Bobcat Diving Invite.
Thatcher was the second-highest finisher of the non-returning state qualifiers, representing the Bobcats with a 15th-place finish. She totaled 320 points for her 11-dive performance, good enough to finish ahead of one returning state qualifier from a year ago.
Thatcher competes in the Iowa Alliance Conference diving meet on Tuesday and the Bobcat swimmers join her for Thursday’s conference invite — both at Mason City High School.