Harrison Jones (Spring, Texas) was second at 364.85 points, and Nick McCrory (Chapel Hill, N.C.) scored 351.20 points for third.

Tarantino, who also won the 2005 title, performed two new dives and capitalized on his high degree of difficulty. Three of his six dives had a DD of 3.2 or higher, highlighted by his last dive – a front 2 ½ with two twists, good for a 3.6 DD. He scored between 4.5s and 5.5s on that dive, one of the most difficult in the world.

“I stuck with my game plan and wanted to give myself a challenge,” Tarantino said. “Only (China’s) He Chong does that double out, so you just do the best you can. I wanted to experiment a little, and I had a good time out there.”

While he didn’t hit that dive – or his other new dive (a reverse 2 ½ pike) – Tarantino scored 8s and 9s on his other four dives and was able to secure the title.

Women’s 10-meter quarterfinals and semifinals also were contested Thursday, with the top 12 performers from the semis advancing to Saturday’s finals. 2000 Olympic gold medalist Laura Wilkinson (Spring, Texas) dominated the field, scoring 392.60 points – nearly 60 more than her closest competitor. Heather Bounds (Round Rock, Texas) was second at 335.95, followed by 2004 Olympian Cassandra Cardinell (Loudonville, N.Y.) at 326.35.

The Kaiser Permanente National Diving Championships run through Sunday, August 5 at the Maas Diving Center at Stanford University. Friday’s competition features women’s 3-meter and men’s 10-meter quarterfinals and semifinals. Competition starts at noon. Saturday and Sunday’s finals will be webcast live on the AT&T blue room beginning at 11:30 Pacific time at http://attblueroom.com/sports/teamusa.

- USA DIVING -
Featuring America’s best divers, USA Diving is the national governing body for the sport of diving. Headquartered in Indianapolis, USA Diving offers diversified programs geared toward the broadest number of diving enthusiasts, from the novice to the world champion. USA Diving conducts approximately 40 regional and national events annually and is responsible for training and selecting teams that represent the United States at international events such as the Olympic Games, World Championships and World Cup. For more information, visit http://www.usadiving.org/.