North Penn’s Yacopino wins 2nd straight AAA gold at District 1 girls diving

TOWAMENCIN >> With a commanding performance, and one that also suggests that maybe bigger things are still ahead, North Penn’s Marie Yacopino dove to her second straight district gold on Saturday afternoon, capturing the District One Class AAA title at North Penn’s Rick Carroll Natatorium.

“I had a rough week so I wasn’t feeling that great, but I’m glad that it worked out the way it did,” the Lady Knights senior said. “I was nervous at different points throughout the meet but the beginning definitely calmed my nerves a little.”
Yacopino led from the start, up by 22 points going into Round Six. Her 11 dives were so consistently strong that she set a District One Class AAA record with a score of 544.30, shattering the previous mark of 512.50 that she set a year ago.
“I didn’t really pay attention to the record — I just try to do my dives the best I can,” said Yacopino, who will be gunning for her fourth state medal in three weeks at Bucknell University. “It’s always a surprise when I hear that I broke the record.”
Yacopino was locked in, and so too was teammate Paige Burrell, who earned silver-medal honors with a 502.45. Council Rock South’s Phoebe Shaya grabbed the bronze with a 465.65, Pennsbury’s Nicole Costello was fourth with a 461.65 and the Lady Knights’ Rachael Fisher notched fifth place on the medal stand with a 444.30.
North Penn will be sending four female divers to states, as Callie Smith placed seventh with a 426.85, sandwiched in between Quakertown’s Taylor Bennett, sixth with a 440.60, and Avon Grove’s Bonita Trinter, eighth with a 419.60.
The Class AA competition saw Upper Moreland push two divers through to the big meet, as Colleen Rodriguez was the gold medalist with a 371.05 and Kaylee Hermann was right behind with a 369.75.
Those moving on to states now have some time to get ready for the final meet of the season. Yacopino, performing at a higher level each week, still wants to do some fine-tuning.
“I still have some work to do,” she said.
The swim portion of the District One Championships will be held Friday and Saturday at La Salle University.