CLARION, Pa. --- The divers of the Golden Eagles women's swimming and diving team kicked off their 2024-25 season at home on Friday night, with two athletes making their first steps toward the NCAA Division II Championships at the Don Leas Diving Invite in Tippin Natatorium.
 
Luna Castellanos and Colleen Hudson both hit NCAA cuts on Friday night, marking the first of two scores necessary for qualification for the Championships. Castellanos hit NCAA marks in all three events contested on Friday, winning all three events as well. The junior hit the NCAA cut in the 1-Meter Dive in both the six-dive and 11-dive lists, as well as in the six-dive list on the 3-Meter board. On the 1-Meter board she scored a 277.15 in the six-dive list and a 456.9 on the 11-dive list. Castellanos also scored a 273.65 in the 3-Meter event, pacing the field.
 
Hudson, meanwhile, hit her first NCAA qualifying mark in the 1-Meter 11-dive list. She posted a score of 417.00, making her one of just two divers to crack the 400-point barrier in that event on Friday.
 
Katie Madigan took second place in the 3-Meter six-dive list with a score of 262.6, and placed third in the 1-Meter 11-dive list with a mark of 384.95. Alexa Gonczi, the reigning Division II Women's Diver of the Year, placed second in the 1-Meter six-dive event with a score of 243.95, and took third in the 3-meter six-dive event with a 257.2.
 
Taelyn Thomas took fifth in the 1-Meter 11-dive event with a score of 343.2, and was seventh in the 3-Meter event with a 204.75.