Chris Devine took the bronze-medal position for the 1-meter diving event at this weekend's NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships, making him the first male diver from Penn State to ever reach the finals on any board.

Devine was the highest placing Big Ten competitor in that event, scoring 560.50, two points behind first-place Chemi Gill of Miami.

Devine said he dove well on both boards, including his fifth-place finish on 3-meter, but he said he could have done better in the 1-meter dive.

"I should've won that event, but I missed my front twister at the beginning," he said. "Each dive I was knocking off more points and getting closer. But that ended up being the one that got away."

In the 3-meter event, where Tennessee's Evan Stuart placed first, Devine's score of 578.15 put him one spot behind Ohio State's Yoshi Sakata.

Devine said his consistent performances garnered him some much-deserved respect from diving ranks around the country.

"Everybody knew I was strong and fast," he said. "But what I'm happy about is the consistency I showed. It makes me excited about what happens in the future."

Swimming Coach Peter Brown said he was proud of Devine, Penn State's only competitor at this year's national championships.

"Chris really dove well on both boards all year," Brown said. "The fact that he did so well at NCAAs is really no surprise at all."