SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Members of the Bainbridge Island Diving Club were part of an elite group of athletes to compete in the recent US Diving Zone E Age Group Championships.

The Bainbridge divers traveled to Salt Lake City, Utah to match up against nearly 200 other divers from California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Virginia and Washington in the competition, held July 5-8.

Bainbridge had four divers qualify for Zones, where divers competed to qualify for the national championships in Moultrie, Georgia come August.

Bryn Tiernen (12-13 girls), Henry Sauermann (12-13 boys), Brian Taylor (12-13 boys) and Zora Opalka (16-18 girls) qualified for this meet back in April at the Region 10 Championships.

The last time BIDC had four divers in this elite level competition was back in 2008. That was the year Olaf Olson became the first BIDC diver to compete at a national championship event.

Tiernen competed on the 3-meter springboard and placed 25th overall with a score of 156.40 points. Opalka came in 30th overall on 3-meter in her event with a score of 321.45. Sauermann was unable to compete due to an injury sustained a week before in another sport.

Brian Taylor put Bainbridge on the map when he earned 8 team points for BIDC by taking ninth-place medals in both springboard events. He scored 206.90 on the 1-meter and 223.10 on the 3-meter, making him eligible to compete at Nationals in both events.

“I was lucky enough getting into Zones,” he said, “and we already have family plans for those dates. Maybe next year when I have more experience.”