Michael Grapner Diving Coach Third Season
Michael Grapner is in his third season as
the diving coach for the Mountaineer Swimming and Diving program after joining the team in December 2010.
The 2011-12 was the most successful
diving season in school history, with Richard Pokorny and Haily VandePoel attending the NCAA Zone “A” Diving Championships and three divers scoring at the Big East Championships. For the men, Pokorny finished third on the 1-meter and third on the 3-meter, and Matt O’Neill took
While Grapner was coaching for U.S. Elite
Diving Invitational. He also served as a three-
Junior National Team Championships and the
year coach at the Indiana University and Miami
2010 U.S. Diving East National Team Champion-
University Diving Camps.
ship. He also has coached at the USA Diving
Junior National and International Champion-
two-year member of the UNC Wilmington diving
ships for five seasons.
squad from 2003-05. While at UNC Wilmington,
the squad won two conference championships
Grapner’s high school athletes have seen
and Grapner was a finalist at the champion-
finalists in Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. He
ships. He also represented the squad on the
specifically coached the Kentucky men’s state
Student Athlete Athletic Council in 2004.
champion, Kentucky’s two-time women’s
runner-up and Ohio’s women’s runner-up.
versity with a bachelor’s degree in health sports
studies in 2008, while earning his master’s
Grapner was the meet director for the
Grapner graduated from Miami (Ohio) Uni-
2010 USA Diving East Junior National Cham-
from Ohio University in sport science and coach-
pionship, the 2009 USA Diving Region 4
ing education in 2010.
ter. VandePoel finished sixth on the 3-meter for the women. In his first season at the helm, O’Neill and
Pokorny each qualified for the 2011 NCAA Zone “A” Diving Championships, while both divers also earned points at the Big East Championships.
At the collegiate level, Grapner was a
much success as well. Grapner has coached
second on the 3-meter and 10th on the 1-me-
Championship and the 2006 Miami University
Diving, the team won the 2010 USA Speedo
Prior to joining WVU, Grapner served
as the head coach of Redhawk Elite Diving (Aug. 2010-Dec. 2010) and Talawanda High (Jan. 2007-Dec. 2010). He also served as head coach at U.S. Elite Diving Academy at the Oxford, Ohio, satellite (Aug. 2006-July 2010), Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy (Oct. 2007-March 2009) and was the interim coach at Miami (Ohio) for the 2006 fall semester.
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2012-13 Swimming & Diving