INDIANAPOLIS — University of Hawai'i senior Mackaby Pennington closed out the season with a 26^th place finish in the platform diving competition at the NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships on Saturday in Indianapolis.
 
Part of a field of 45 divers in the preliminaries, Pennington posted a total score of 305.85 in six dives at IU Natatorium. His score and placement were the highest for a UH diver in the NCAA Championship platform event since Amund Gismervik's 10^th place showing (362.10) in 2016.
 
Pennington earned a berth in the NCAA Championships for the first time in his career by placing seventh in the platform event at the NCAA Zone E Championships on March 12 in in Flagstaff, Ariz., earning the last spot available at the qualifying meet.
 
In his NCAA Championship debut, Pennington recorded a score of 51.15 on his first dive on Saturday (Armstand Forward 2 Somersault 1 Twist Free). He posted his highest score of the session in the third round at a 55.50 (Forward 3 1/2 Somersault Pike). He closed out the preliminaries with a 54.4 on his sixth and final dive (Inward 3 1/2 Somersault Tuck).

 

Mackaby moving up 📈#GoBows pic.twitter.com/LMSXPsOPb3

— Hawaii Swim & Dive (@HawaiiSwimDive) March 30, 2024

 
The top eight divers in the preliminaries advanced to Saturday's finals, the next eight qualified for the consolation round.
 
The NCAA Championships punctuated the season for the Rainbow Warriors, who captured the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation championship in February. UH's 200 freestyle relay team also qualified for the NCAA Championships and set a school record in the event on Thursday.