LEXINGTON, Ky. (U-WIRE) -- Two former Kentucky divers fell just short of their Olympic dreams at the U.S. Olympic Trials in St. Peters, Mo., over the weekend.

Clayton Moss, the 2002 SEC Diver of the Year and 11-time All-American, finished fourth with a score of 1,030.23 points in the 3-meter springboard event. Moss and Justin Wilcock scored a combined 594.90 points to take third in the synchro 3-meter event.

Former UK All-American Aaron Kirkpatrick placed ninth in the 3-meter event with a score of 959.91. Kirkpatrick paired with Thomas Davidson in the synchro 3-meter and scored 557.91 for a fifth-place finish. The top two competitors in each event will move on to the Olympics.

UK head diving coach Michael Lyden knew Moss and Kirkpatrick were ready for the competition.

"Aaron and Clayton have been training like my college kids," Lyden said. "We've had two-a-days, lifted weights extensively, done abdominal workouts and practiced somersaults."

Despite the disappointment of missing the Olympics, Lyden says the divers gave it their best shot.

"The focus and effort they put in and the maturity they showed in competing has been one of the top coaching experiences for me," he said.

Two other Wildcats also competed in the preliminaries of the Olympic Trials. Freshman Kari Retrum, the 2004 SEC women's platform diving champion, placed 17th in the platform diving event, while junior Jessica Thompson took 18th in the 3-meter springboard event.

Taryn Ignacio, a sophomore who is transferring to UK from Florida State this season, placed 11th in the platform event. Lyden coached Ignacio, a native of Richmond, Ky., when she was 12 years old.

"I'm looking forward to having her back," he said.

With Retrum returning and Ignacio joining the team, Lyden hopes the two will push each other to their best and dominate the conference next year.

Although none of the competitors were able to make it to the Olympics, Lyden is still proud of their accomplishments.

(C) 2004 Kentucky Kernel via U-WIRE.