NORTH DARTMOUTH, MASS. 2/11/12 – Keene State College senior Derek Peabody (Haverhill Mass.) set a school record for 11 dives with 395.90 points, finishing third in the one-meter diving event at the New England Intercollegiate Swimming and Diving Association (NEISDA) Championships held at UMass-Dartmouth on Saturday.

            "It means a lot to me to get the record. I thought I got it last year, so it was finally nice to get it this year," said Peabody who eclipsed the previous mark of 366.90 set by Zach Hastings in 2004. "I was very happy with my performance today and getting the record was the cherry on top."

            Peabody had to overcome a tough start to get the record.  "I really messed up my first dive in the preliminaries this morning," he said.  "But I was able to rebound and it worked out for the best because it took the pressure off me. I changed my reverse-twister a little bit in the finals and I was able to hit it." 

            Teammate sophomore Josh Tuller (Plainview, N.Y.) finished fifth in the event with 367.50.  Both Peabody and Tuller earn All-NEISDA honors.

            Sophomore Christian Francia (Hampton, N.H.) from host UMass-Dartmouth won the event with 402 points.

            Peabody will now get set for the three-meter competition on Sunday.  "I'm not really worried about anything. I don't have any expectations, so I 'm just looking to have some fun with it," he said.