DIVING U.S. CHAMPIONSHIPS : Three-Meter Titles to Klein, Jeffrey

Krista Klein won her third national championship and Patrick Jeffrey earned his first in the three-meter springboard Saturday at the U.S. Diving Championships.

Klein beat defending champion Wendy Lucero by 37 points to win her first U.S. title in the three-meter event since the indoor championships in April of 1990.

Jeffrey, a perennial finalist but never a national champion, also had a strong finish and got some help when two veteran champions performed poorly down the stretch.

Jeffrey scored no lower than an 8.0 on his last three dives, winning the gold medal on the last dive when defending champion Mark Lenzi, who appeared in control down the stretch, came upshort on a reverse 3 1/2 somersault tuck.

Jeffrey had 634.47 points, 22 more than Kent Ferguson, who lost too much ground when he hit a toe on the board in the ninth round.