Lake Washington High’s CJ Clark was back on the diving board at the 3A state championships on Saturday. He made it to the medal podium later with a seventh-place finish at the King County Aquatics Center in Federal Way.

“Everything went pretty good,” he said. “I was short on a few dives, but overall I did pretty well. Better than I thought I would, if that’s any consolation.”

Clark was thrilled with his two-and-a-half-somersault dive and two-and-a-half somersault twister. It was a good confidence booster when he nailed those dives.

“As soon as you come up from the water and hitting them perfect, I mean, everyone’s clapping, you’re smiling, you did better than you thought you would, it was great. It feels really good,” Clark said.

Clark snagged 313.90 points in the 1-meter diving competition, and Kiern Liberman from Bainbridge Island won the 11-dive event with 443 points. Clark’s fellow LW diver Aidan Richter took 11th with 289.80 points.

Clark praised diving coach Phillip Klassen for guiding the two LW sophomores back to state.

LW swimmers who nailed eighth-place finishes were Steffen Teutsch in the 500 freestyle in 4:49.46, and the 200 medley relay (Alex Karulin, Jake Rinehart, Oliver Norred and Will Reeves) in 1:39.77.

In other LW action, Karulin took 13th in the 100 backstroke (54.51) and Reeves took 16th (55.94); Noah Eilers took 14th in the 200 individual medley (2:03.12); the 200 freestyle relay took 10th in 1:29.66 and consisted of Karulin, Reeves, Patrick Easter and Kyle Terao; and the 400 freestyle relay took 13th in 3:20.95 and featured Norred, Easter, Reeves and Karulin.

Lake Washington’s CJ Clark dives to seventh place at the 3A state championships on Saturday at the King County Aquatics Center in Federal Way. Andy Nystrom / staff photo