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BLACKSBURG, Va. – Eight Virginia Tech divers are set to compete in the 2012 USA Diving Winter National Championships beginning Thursday, Dec. 15. The seven-day competition will take place at the University of Tennessee’s Allan Jones Aquatic Center in Knoxville, Tenn.

Representing the H₂Okies will be Kaylea Arnett, Logan Kline, Sara Mokhtari and Kelli Stockton from the women’s squad and all four men divers will participate, including Kyle Butts, Ryan Hawkins, John Trope and Logan Shinholser.

America's top divers will be competing for 10 national titles as well as the chance to represent the United States in several upcoming international competitions, including the upcoming FINA Diving World Cup in London, the final opportunity for the U.S. to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games. The Winter Nationals will also serve as the last opportunity for divers to qualify for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for diving.

National titles will be awarded for both men and women on 1-meter and 3-meter springboard and 10-meter platform, as well as synchronized 3-meter and synchronized 10-meter.

The number of spots available on each event varies based on the number of prequalified divers who have registered for the meet.

Six of the eight H₂Okie divers have already prequalified for several events, including Kyle Butts (synchronized men’s 3-meter), Logan Shinholser (synchronized men’s 3-meter and platform, individual men’s 3-meter and platform), Ryan Hawkins (synchronized men’s 3-meter and platform), Kelli Stockton (individual and synchronized women’s platform), Logan Kline (individual women’s 1-meter and synchronized women’s 3-meter) and Kaylea Arnett (synchronized women’s platform and individual women’s 3-meter).

Anyone who is not prequalified into the quarterfinals for an individual event can enter the preliminaries to try to earn a spot into the quarterfinals.

This event is typically held at the end of January, but because of the 2012 international schedule, the event was moved to December.

Tickets for the Winter National Championships are $10/day (children under 10 are free), with all-session passes available for $40. Tickets can be purchased in advance at www.usadiving.org and will also be available on-site during the competition.

The competition schedule can be found at: http://www.usadiving.org/05redesign/main/news_12_09_11.htm

Results will be available on usadiving.org and on divemeets.com.

For updates on Virginia Tech swimming & diving, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_SwimDive).