Bowling Green State University Athletics
Mayorga Wins Three Meter Dive on Final Day of MAC Championships
March 01, 2026 | Women's Swimming & Diving
AKRON, Ohio – Bowling Green closed the MAC Championships the way it had competed all week: with resolve.
On the meet's final day, multiple Falcons surpassed National Invitational Championship (NIC) standards, several swimmers climbed the program's all-time lists and junior Natalia Mayorga captured the conference title in the three meter dive to punctuate the meet.
In the 200 butterfly preliminaries, Alex Johnson posted a 2:04.41 to clear the NIC B-cut standard. Grace Bodrock followed with a 2:03.87, qualifying for the B final and placing 14th overall. Freshman Astrid Garcia added a milestone performance, touching in at 2:01.77 in the morning to qualify for the A final. Her time cleared the NIC B-cut and ranks sixth in program history. Garcia went on to finish eighth overall Saturday night.
As the swimming events concluded and the pool deck shifted its focus, attention fixated on the three meter championship.
Mayorga entered the meet after posting a 284.15 in preliminaries two days earlier. She surpassed that mark by more than 30 points in the final.
She totaled 98.95 points across her first two dives before finding another gear. Mayorga delivered four consecutive dives of 50-plus points to close her list, igniting the Bowling Green section of the natatorium. Teammates and staff rose to their feet and crowded the edge of the deck as her final score flashed: 316.85.
The junior, who placed fourth in the event as a freshman and won the B final last season, returned to northwest Ohio as a MAC champion and first team All-MAC.
"The three meter is Natalia's strongest springboard event," diving coach Michael Retcher said. "In her freshman year she was fourth place and since then she's wanted it. … That A final field of divers was an insanely talented field and is the deepest the MAC has been in a long time. From Nat's first dive, we knew she was dialed in."
Retcher said the atmosphere on deck was unlike anything he has experienced.
"The energy of the crowd, the team, I've never seen anything like it," he said. "Natalia is a performer. She arrived to campus a championship-level diver. What really set her apart and won her the championship was her work ethic and energy all year. … That really made the difference today."
Bowling Green closed the meet in the pool with a strong showing in the 400 freestyle relay. Emily McNicol, Annie Berrow, Sierra Newton and Samia Becdach won their heat and placed seventh overall in 3:24.14, hitting the NIC A-cut standard on the nose. Becdach's 50 freestyle split in the relay is tied for fourth fastest in program history.
The Falcons finished ninth in the team standings with 159 points, a result that did not fully reflect the cultivated momentum.
"We had some great swims throughout the week, some personal bests," head coach Tanner Barton said. "We had swimmers who were qualifying for finals in their very first year of a college championship. The freshmen rose up. The seniors were leading the way with their energy and enthusiasm. I know the standings aren't what we had hoped, but the performances were there, and we're continuing to be competitive."
For Barton, the defining moment came at the end.
"The end is what I'm most proud of," he said. "Natalia winning the three meter competition is huge for our program. More than that, our team was by far the loudest on the deck. … Yes, that's Natalia's victory, but it's representative of the entire team and how we get together as a swimming and diving program."
Bowling Green's postseason is not complete. Divers will compete at the NCAA Zone Championships, and several swimmers are headed to Ocala, Florida, for the CSCAA National Invitational Championship from March 12-14.
"We're not done yet," Barton said. "We have swimmers that will be competing in Florida and representing BG at a national level meet in two weeks. So, I'm excited for them to get back in the pool and represent our team in Florida."
Players Mentioned
