ElliReese Niday and Sophie Verzyl Lead USA Divers with Gold at Junior Pan American Games
U.S. divers won seven medals – three gold, two silver and two bronze – at the Junior Pan American Games in Asuncion, Paraguay.
The U.S. women won gold in all three individual events. Sophie Verzyl (Columbia, S.C.) won gold in the 1-meter and 3-meter events, while ElliReese Niday (Moultrie, Ga.) won the 10-meter gold. Both divers earned direct qualification into the 2027 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru.
Niday was joined on the 10-meter podium by Hannah McLaughlin (Spring, Texas), who took silver in the individual 10-meter contest. The 13-year-old Niday and 14-year-old McLaughlin were the two youngest divers in the 10-meter event. The duo also paired up to win the bronze medal in synchronized 10-meter.
In addition to her two individual gold medals, Verzyl teamed with Anna Kwong (Omaha, Neb.) for a silver medal in women’s synchronized 3-meter. Kwong also competed individually and finished fourth on 1-meter and fifth on 3-meter.
Collier Dyer (Littleton, Colo.) and Luke Hernandez (Holly Springs, N.C.) won bronze in men’s synchronized 3-meter. Individually, Hernandez was fourth on 3-meter and 10th on 1-meter, while Dyer finished fifth on both 1-meter and 3-meter.
Andrew Bennett (Madison, Wisc.) and Grant Cates (Swayzee, Ind.) represented the U.S. in the men’s 10-meter events. Cates placed seventh and Bennett was ninth in individual competition. They finished fifth in synchronized 10-meter.
The Junior Pan American Games are a multi-sport event featuring more than 4,000 athletes from 41 countries competing in 28 sports from August 9-23. Divers must be 22 or younger to participate.
