Elwood 15-year-old Mary Beth Dunnichay and synchronized diving partner Haley Ishimatsu finished fifth early this morning (EST) in the 10-meter platform contest at the Beijing Olympics.

Dunnichay and Ishimatsu, also 15, were 20.94 points behind the bronze-medal team of Paola Espinoza and Tatiana Ortiz of Mexico and 54.42 points behind gold medalists Xin Wang and Ruolin Chen of China. The Australian team of Briony Cole and Melissa Wu took silver with a score of 335.16.

Each diving pair had five dives for their combined score.

Dunnichay is the U.S.'s youngest Olympian at the 2008 Games and is the first from Madison County to compete in the Games since the early 20th Century. The 10-meter platform was Dunnichay's only event in Beijing. Ishimatsu, from California, will compete in the individual diving competition.

For more details about Dunnichay's performance, check The Herald Bulletin's Web site later today.