INDIANAPOLIS -- Julie Farrell-Ovenhouse scored 542.88 points Wednesday night to take a commanding lead in the three-meter springboard preliminaries at the U.S. Olympic Diving Trials.
The finals, in which the top 12 qualifiers will repeat their 10-dive program, will take place Thursday night.
The top two finishers earn spots on the squad to compete next month at Barcelona, Spain.
Karen LaFace of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., stood second with 488.19 points, with 1988 Olympian Wendy Lucero-Schayes of Denver third at 484. 62.
Farrell-Ovenhouse stood eighth after three dives, but earned her first 9.5 mark in international competition with on her fourth effort -- an inward 1 somersault from the tuck position -- to move into third.
'It felt pretty good,' said the resident of Howell, Mich. 'When I came out for the scores, I was like, 'I'm on now. Now I'm in the groove. Let's keep it on for the rest of my dives.''
She climbed to second at the end of the required dives and took command in the optionals, earning a 9.5 on her final effort, an inward 2 somersault from the tuck position.
'It was anybody's ballgame, so I wasn't expecting anything today,' she said. 'I just wanted to have a good program.'
