North Penn’s Gagnon, Boland Bintner, Yacopino named NISCA All-Americans

The National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association recently announced its selections for the 2014 All-American Diving team, honoring a very select group out of thousands and thousands of male and female divers across the U.S.

And three of these honorees share the same board at North Penn.

Geoffroy Gagnon, Marie Yacopino and Ian Boland Bintner all earned spots on the All-American squad, each having enjoyed quite a tremendous season competing for NP.

“Having an opportunity to work with each athlete, it has been an absolute pleasure,’ said their coach, Kyle Goldbacher. “I’ve known them all for a very long time, and I’ve enjoyed watching them mature into well-rounded, extremely gifted young athletes.’

It is the second straight year Gagnon and Yacopino received the high honor while Boland Bintner was one of just 12 freshman boys in the country that were selected.

“I have to say that when I look back on this season, I think about the ups and downs that we had and the fact that we supported each other and kept pushing each other through it,’ said Gagnon, who will dive at the University of Florida next year. “The end result is what we were after.’

Gagnon won the Suburban One League Continental Conference title, placed sixth at the District 1 Class AAA Championships, and then capped off his Knights career with a fifth-place medal at states.

He also did a little bit more.

“This past year, Geoffroy provided solid leadership for our team,’ Goldbacher said. “He has a strong work ethic and solid sense of personal responsibility.’

Yacopino dove to a conference title this past winter and then she earned silver at districts. Remarkably, she placed in the top three in the state for the second straight time.

Silver medalist as a freshman and bronze medalist as a sophomore, Yacopino has been at her best at Bucknell.

“I remember being super stressed-out before that meet,’ she said. “It was really a relief to do so well.’

Success came at meny venues, and at many pools. And pretty much any female diving record there is at North Penn now has the name Yacopino beside it.

“Again, she exceeded her own expectations,’ Goldbacher said of the rising junior, who experienced her first international competition this past year in Montreal. “This season was another step forward for her.’

And she managed the pressure, right to the end.

“Most of all, she achieved these successes while carrying the imaginary pressure of ‘ having to repeat’ due to an extremely successful freshman year,’ said her coach. “So this year was all about character building.’

Boland Bintner got his high school career off to a prolific start, immediately displaying the ability to raise his level of competition when the postseason comes around.

“The district meet is probably the one that stands out,’ he said of his freshman season. “I performed pretty well there.’

Fifth in all of District 1 Class AAA in fact, and Boland Bintner just missed making the final round at states, by one spot.

“Ian has a very bright future,’ Goldbacher said. “He has no idea how good he is. His skills are well-polished and his ‘ diving IQ’ is exceptionally high.’

All three national standouts begin their Bux-Mont League season Thursday evening. In addition, Yacopino and Boland Binter get ready for the Junior Olympic Zone Championships while Gagnon will be diving for his club team until heading to the Sunshine State on Aug. 16.

“Very pumped,’ he said. “North Penn was a great team to be a part of, a family.’