COLUMBIA, Missouri — Kyle Goodwin paused before his final dive on the 3-meter springboard.

The Missouri senior was about to attempt a forward 2 1/2 somersault with two twists.

But before his last dive in a home meet, Goodwin thought, “I hope I don’t mess it up.”

He didn’t.

Goodwin, who is gay, scored 68.85 points on that last dive to leave his final meet at the Mizzou Aquatic Center as a winner. He posted the top score on 3-meter springboard (382.73 points) after earlier in the day winning 1-meter springboard (380.33) at the Jan. 19 dual meet against Missouri State.

Missouri diver Kyle Goodwin competes during a meet in 2018.

“I still had a few small mistakes that I know that I can improve on for like SECs, Zones and NCAAs,” said Goodwin, who is gay. “So I know that even though it was a really good meet that I can do a lot better.”

The next meet for Goodwin is the Southeastern Conference Championships on Feb. 19-23. He then starts the NCAA postseason March 11.

It’s a chance to close a career already full of accolades with even more.

“All year has been pretty consistent,” Goodwin said. “I haven’t necessarily done anything special, but I also haven’t had any bad dives. … I feel like I’ve walked away from pretty much every meet feeling satisfied but also wanting more because I know I can do better than that.”

Missouri diver Kyle Goodwin competes at the 2017 NCAA Championships in Indianapolis on March 23, 2017.

As a freshman, Goodwin earned honorable mention All-American honors by finishing 13th on platform at the NCAA Championships. He returned to the NCAA meet the last two years with a top-25 finish each year.

At the SEC Championships, he’s finished top eight four times led by sixth on 3-meter springboard in 2018.

The 5-foot-8, 145-pound Goodwin said setting point or placement goals in the past has led to disappointment, so he’s not doing that this year.

“I kind of just want to end with a couple lists that I’m satisfied with,” said Goodwin, who started diving at 10 years old. “I kind of just want to walk away happy from the sport.”

Missouri diver Kyle Goodwin competes at the 2017 NCAA Championships in Indianapolis on March 23, 2017.

Goodwin has been out as gay to his Missouri teammates since the summer before his freshman year. He came out to family about a year later.

He started acting on his feelings of being gay at the end of high school after a guy reached out to him on Facebook that he met when he went to prom with a female friend.

Goodwin arrived at Missouri in the fall of 2015 more than a year after former Missouri football player Michael Sam came out in February 2014. Goodwin said he “never had any issues” from teammates or coaches in Columbia about being gay.

“If I don’t treat it like it’s a big deal then other people aren’t going to treat it like a big deal,” Goodwin said.

He took the same approach with this story. He didn’t want a big story talking about coming out. He wanted to talk about diving.

“It’s been a pretty good semester so far,” Goodwin said. “It’s been consistent, so I’ll take it.”

Kyle Goodwin is a senior at the University of Missouri. He is scheduled to graduate with a bachelor’s in graphic design in December 2019. You can contact Kyle at @Kyle_Goodwin15.

Names in bold are people that have announced publicly they identify as LGBTQ. Results are for competitions that took place Jan. 14-27.

Division I

Matt Aronson (senior, Wisconsin men’s diving) finished ninth on both 1-meter (225.5) and 3-meter springboard (250.8) during a three-team meet at Iowa on Jan. 19.

Philip Batler (junior, Brown men’s track & field) and Johnny Kemps (senior, Boston men’s track & field) competed at Friday’s and Saturday’s Terrier Classic in Boston. Batler finished 58th of 137 runners in the 200 (22.71 seconds). Kemps won his heat and finished 14th overall in the mile (4:08.95) out of 158 runners.

Joey Bonanno (senior, Ohio State men’s gymnastics) finished fourth on floor (14.25) and tied for 11th on vault (13.3) during Saturday’s dual meet at Oklahoma, which the Sooners won 423.95-395.4.

Michaela Bruns (senior, Gonzaga women’s track & field) took 20th in the 800 meters (2:44.07) during the Washington State Open on Jan. 19.

Lisa Coe (junior, Pittsburgh women’s diving) placed fifth on 1-meter (240.95) and seventh on 3-meter (232.4) during Friday’s Western Pennsylvania Invite. Coe finished sixth on 3-meter (231.75) and seventh on 1-meter (217.95) during a meet at Denison on Jan. 18.

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Abrahm DeVine (senior, Stanford men’s swimming) won the 400-yard individual medley (3:53.23) for the best result of his three events during Saturday’s dual meet at Arizona State. He competed in four events Friday at Arizona, and his best result was second in the 100 backstroke (48.4 seconds).

Konrad Eiring (senior, Illinois men’s track & field) won the 1,000 meters (2:26.1) and took eighth in the 800 meters (1:53.51) during Iowa’s Wieczorek Invitational on Jan. 18.19. He finished seventh in the mile (4:17.43) during Saturday’s Illinois Invitational.

Taylor Emery (senior, Virginia Tech women’s basketball) surpassed 1,000 points during her two-year career at Virginia Tech. She reached the milestone with 17 points against North Carolina on Jan. 24. Her 11 points Sunday against No. 22-ranked Florida State give Emery 1,024 points as a Hokie. That doesn’t include her 216 points as a freshman at Tulane.

The 55 games she needed to reach 1,000 points is the fastest in Virginia Tech women’s basketball history. Virginia Tech (13-7 overall, 0-7 ACC) went 0-4 the last two weeks.

Aidan Faminoff (sophomore, Florida State men’s diving) finished second on both 1-meter (292.5) and 3-meter springboard (339.6) during Saturday’s dual meet with Florida Atlantic.

Sam Fromkin (senior, American men’s swimming) and Blaine Johnson (junior, American men’s swimming) competed in a four-team meet at George Mason on Jan. 19. Fromkin competed in four events with his best result 10th in the 200-yard backstroke (2:02.42). Johnson swam three events with his best result 13th in the 200 breaststroke (2:32.0).

Abbie Hetherington (senior, Oklahoma State women’s track & field) finished 18th in the 800 meters (2:10.01) during Saturday’s Washington Invitational.

Bree Horrocks (redshirt senior, Vanderbilt women’s basketball), Stephanie White (head coach, Vanderbilt women’s basketball) and Kelly Komara (assistant coach, Vanderbilt women’s basketball) guided the Commodores (6-13 overall, 1-5 SEC) to a 1-1 record the last two weeks with an 80-68 win against Mississippi and a 72-70 loss to Auburn. Vanderbilt’s women’s basketball game at Texas A&M on Jan. 31 is scheduled to be on SEC Network at 8:30 p.m. ET. Tennessee at Vanderbilt on Feb. 3 is scheduled to be on ESPN2 at 3 p.m. ET. Vanderbilt at Missouri on Feb. 10 is scheduled to be on SEC Network at 4 p.m. ET.

Matt Kravitz (junior, Lehigh men’s track & field), Sam Layding (senior, Lehigh men’s track & field), Michael Mitchell (sophomore, Lehigh men’s track & field) and Susie Poore (sophomore, Lehigh women’s track & field) competed in a meet against Lehigh on Jan. 19 and at the Navy Invitational on Jan. 26.

At Navy, Kravitz took third in the mile (4:12.03) and helped the distance medley relay take second. Also at Navy, Layding won the 5,000 meters (15:10.5). Against Lehigh, Kravitz won the 1,000 meters (2:36.12), the mile (4:27.86) and helped the 4×800 relay win, and also against Lehigh, Layding won the 3,000 meters (8:43.55). Mitchell took second in the 1,000 (2:39.27) against Lehigh, and he finished third in the 3,000 (8:40.8) at Navy.

Poore only competed at Navy, and she finished sixth in the 3,000 meters (10:17.58).

Dawson LaRance (sophomore, Minnesota men’s track & field) and Antonio Woodard (redshirt junior, Iowa men’s track & field) competed at Iowa’s Wieczorek Invitational on Jan. 18-19. LaRance took sixth in the 800 meters (1:52.74). Woodard ran three events, and his best result was second in the 200 meters (21.11 seconds).

Sam Lewis (sophomore, Southern California men’s volleyball) recorded seven kills and four blocks for the Trojans (5-3 overall) in Friday’s four-set loss to No. 1-ranked Long Beach State.

Justice Lord (senior, Barton men’s volleyball) recorded four kills and 10 blocks as Barton (5-2 overall) won in five sets against No. 15-ranked Grand Canyon on Jan. 18. Barton went 5-0 the last two weeks, and that includes winning the Grow the Game tournament on Jan. 18-20.

Will Lynch (senior, Vermont men’s track & field) won the high jump (6 feet, 0 inches) during the Middlebury Winterfell on Jan. 19. Lynch finished third in high jump (6-0) at the Middlebury Invitational, which took place Friday and Saturday.

Ben Magliato (senior, Northwestern men’s diving) and Jack Thorne (senior, Northwestern men’s swimming) competed at meets at Iowa (Jan. 19) and Louisville (Friday) during the last two weeks.

At Iowa, Magliato took fourth on 3-meter (342.8) and fifth on 1-meter springboard (298.85), and Thorne finished fifth in the 200-yard backstroke (1:48.95). At Louisville, Magliato came in fifth in 3-meter (283.2) and seventh on 1-meter (220.88), and Thorne swam three events led by second in the 100 backstroke (50.13 seconds).

Anthony Musciano (junior, Drexel men’s diving) won the 1-meter springboard (319.3) and qualified for the NCAA postseason against Georgetown on Jan. 19.

Ryan Russi (redshirt senior, Wyoming men’s diving) won 1-meter (291.08) and took second on 3-meter (314.7) in a dual meet at UNLV on Saturday.

Matt Young (redshirt freshman, Arkansas men’s track & field) helped the distance medley relay finish second at the Razorback Invitational on Friday. Young was named SEC Men’s Track and Field Freshman of the Week on Jan. 15 after taking fourth in the mile on Jan. 11.

Division II

Andre Williams (sophomore, Central Missouri men’s track & field) competed in three events at Saturday’s Pittsburgh State Invitational, and his best result was 36th in the 60 meters (7.07 seconds).

Division III

Kyle Davis (senior, Ithaca men’s track & field) took seventh in long jump (20-10 3/4) and 11th in triple jump (40-7 3/4) at Saturday’s Utica Pioneer Open. Davis took fourth in the long jump (20-5 1/4) at the Cornell Upstate Challenge on Jan. 19.

Alec Donovan (redshirt junior, Centenary wrestling) improved to 14-5 overall this season. He won his 165-pound bout by an 8-6 decision against Ithaca on Friday. Donovan won his 165-pound bout by a 3-1 decision against NYU on Jan. 18.

Matthew Garza (junior, John Hopkins men’s swimming) took sixth in the 100-yard butterfly (52.93 seconds) and 10th in the 50 freestyle (22.51 seconds) during a quadrangular meet Jan. 19.

Jason Hadley (senior, Mount Union men’s track & field) finished 43rd in the 800 meters (2:07.97) at the Youngstown State Invitational on Jan. 18. He took 48th in the 800 (2:07.58) during Saturday’s Spire Midwest Open.

Isaac Hanson (sophomore, Hamline men’s swimming) competed in four events during a three-team meet Jan. 19, and his best result was second in the 200-yard butterfly (2:05.49).

Lex Horwitz (senior, Bowdoin men’s squash) lost a match at No. 9 singles in three sets against MIT on Jan. 15.

Zach Johnson (freshman, MIT men’s track & field) took sixth in the 3,000 meters (9:00.39) during the Bowdoin Invitational on Jan. 19.

Harrison Knowlton (senior, Middlebury men’s track & field) finished fourth in the mile (4:31.52) during Saturday’s Middlebury Invitational.

Nathan Matthews (senior, Wittenberg men’s volleyball) recorded 10 digs in Saturday’s four-set win against Daemen. Matthews helped Wittenberg go 3-4 the last two weeks to open the season.

NAIA

Felipe Oliveira (senior, Cardinal Stritch men’s volleyball) recorded 10 kills, seven digs and four blocks in a four-set loss to Lakeland on Jan. 23. Cardinal Stritch opened the season 0-4.

Nick Clark (head coach, Clarke men’s volleyball) led the No. 9-ranked Clarke Pride to a 2-2 start to the season.

NJCAA

Lexie Gerson (head coach, Harcum women’s basketball) led the Bears (14-6 overall) to go 2-1 the last two weeks.

Layne Ingram (head coach, Lansing women’s basketball) guided the Stars (5-14 overall) to go 1-3 the last two weeks.

Erik Hall can be reached via email at [email protected] or on Twitter @HallErik or Facebook. If you are an out LGBTQ athlete or coach and want your accomplishments recognized, please email Erik.

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