Cerritos College freshman diver Yuridia Vela (Schurr HS) turned her eighth place finish 3-meter event at the Southern California Championships on Saturday into berth in the State Championships, which will take place on April 26-28 at East Los Angeles College. In years past, only the top six would have advanced to the championships, but with the number extended to the top eight, it opened the door for Vela. In her six dives, Vela compiled 177.90 points, which helped her edge out Orange Coast College's Brhez Dulac, who placed ninth with 175.35 points.

Vela opened the day with a forward dive with a pike that earned her the most points of any of her dives, and followed that with her second best dive, a back dive. After a couple of dives that didn't score her a great deal of points, Vela finished the day with a back dive, 1/2 twist that secured her enough points to advance to the state championships. She did not compete in the 1-meter diving competition.