Winter Nationals run five days of highs and lows. In the springboard final, neither Scarlett nor Pen qualify for worlds; even Carissa misses after a botched entry. Lukas checks in by text, pushing Scarlett to name how she is. The next morning Scarlett receives an A from Herr Karl-Heinz and shares it with friends and Lukas, buoying her mood.

After a tense call with her sister, Bella withdraws with a back issue, and the twins leave. Scarlett and Pen place fifth in board synchro while Carissa and Natalie win gold, earning their Amsterdam trip. Skipping the ceremony, Scarlett and Pen run into Carissa; Scarlett defends Pen, trading barbs. Pen later tells Scarlett she shares Lukas’s quiet strength and reframes confidence as showing up and trying.

During platform synchro finals, Pen sprains her ankle on takeoff. The doctor calls it minor but ends her meet. On the final day, Coach Sima notes no podiums yet, confirms the whole team made Olympic trials, and chides Scarlett’s three-meter.

In the individual platform final, Scarlett hovers near the podium, battling Natalie for bronze behind Akane Straisman and Emilee Newell. Choosing her high-risk armstand double one and a half, she centers herself, noting the tie-dye shammy Lukas once replaced for her, and dives to strong scores. Initially it looks like bronze over Natalie, but Emilee’s final dive collapses, dropping Emilee to bronze and bumping Scarlett to silver. Coach Sima returns the shammy and hints at passports—Scarlett has qualified for Amsterdam.