EVANSVILLE, Ind. --- Colleen Hudson became the 63^rd national champion in the history of the Golden Eagles swimming & diving program, and Clarion placed four divers in the top-six on the 3-meter board at the 2026 NCAA Division II Swimming & Diving Championships on Thursday.
 
Diving in a loaded finals field that included three of her teammates, Hudson shined with an outstanding six-dive performance on Thursday night, putting up a score of 512.45. Her second through fourth dives were a string of successes, highlighted by an outstanding Reverse 2 ½ Somersault Tuck that netted her 61.60 points.

No dive of Hudson's garnered less than a score of 6.0 from any judge, and she averaged a score of 7.00 across the event.
 
With the win, Hudson is the 21^st Golden Eagle to win a national championship in the Women's 3-Meter dive. Clarion athletes have won the event in four straight years – Luna Castellanos took home the title in 2023 and 2025, while Alexa Gonczi won in 2024.
 
The top three spots on the podium were all occupied by Golden Eagles. Taelyn Thomas was the national runner-up with a score of 498.00. Three of her six dives topped 60 points, including a high of 63.00 on a Forward 3 ½ Somersault Tuck to close out the list. That was the highest single-dive score for a Golden Eagle in the final. Castellanos was just one spot behind her with a score of 495.95.
 
Katie Madigan added another All-American honor to her own trophy case with a sixth place finish. The senior scored 463.05, with her best dive coming at the end, a Back 1 ½ Somersault 2 ½ Twist Free for 56 points.