Swimming
Favorite athlete: Missy Franklin
Favorite team: Philadelphia Eagles
Favorite memory competing in sports: My country club swim team won first place in my summer league between 10 different teams. My relays and individual swims led our team to the exciting win.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: When my close friend on the swim team got her best time in the 500 free, I ran to hug her and congratulate her, and she ended up slipping on the pool deck, and we both fell to the ground laughing.
Music on iPod: The Killers, Dispatch, Taylor Swift
Future Plans: To major in business at the University of Pittsburgh and hopefully live a successful and happy life.
Words to live by: “If not now, then when?”
One goal before turning 30: Travel throughout Europe
One thing people don’t know about me: I am actually very shy in public situations, despite my involvement in school and sports.
Taylor Spitko appreciates everything she has in life.
The senior on the Abington swim team learned this lesson by going on mission trips with her mother.
“I’ve been doing it for a long time now, and I’ve been on tons of trips with our church,” Spitko said. “My mom goes every year, and I’ve been going with her and it’s been amazing.”
She has been to different parts of the United States and also to other countries.
“Three years ago we went to Guatemala and it was awesome,” she said. “Last summer I went with my mom to Montana, and it was really cool to see such a different part of our country.”
But the trips are not vacations for Spitko.
“It’s interesting to see how we are in Abington, Pennsylvania as compared to those other places, but it’s also an opportunity to help other people and that’s what makes it so special,” she said.“It makes me realize how lucky I am and how fortunate I am to have the things I have and the opportunities I have.”
Spitko also participates in Athletes Helping Athletes through Abington.
“That’s a great organization and it’s a lot of fun,” she said.
She has been swimming since age four.
“My mom got me involved as a kid, and I really loved it and had ability straight away,” she said. “It was really fun for me so that kept me involved.”
She also played lacrosse for about five years and was a tennis player.
“Once I got to high school it was hard to do three sports,” she said.
She continued to play tennis until this year.
“It got to be too much and I really wanted to commit to swimming,” she said. “I was able to really do the preseason for high school and get into it and really focus on swimming. I enjoyed tennis but this was the right decision for me.”
As much as she enjoys time spent in the pool, Spitko also enjoys the camaraderie of her team.
“Our team is awesome,” she said. “We have great morale, and everyone is fun to be around so they made it all the better for me to be on the team for my last year.”
At the Suburban One League National Conference championship meet, held Friday at Council Rock North, Spitko had a standout night.
She finished eighth in the 100-yard freestyle in 57.52 and 10th in the 50 freestyle (26.19).
She anchored the 200 medley relay which finished fourth (1:58.37) for teammates Frances Erney, Aoife Garvey and Emma O’Neill. She was also on the sixth place 400 freestyle relay with Erney, Katelyn Wojnar and O’Neill (3:58.84).
“I’m very happy with how I swam,” she said. “This was a great meet for me. I dropped a lot of time.”
Abington coach Joe Lennon appreciates having Spitko on the team.
“She’s a tremendous young lady,” Lennon said. “She’s one of the hardest workers on the team. She understands how to push herself at practice.
“If you had to pick someone that was going to swim well at our championship meet and really deserved to swim well there, it’s Taylor and she delivered. She was ready. Everything was fast.”
Lennon coached Spitko’s older sister, Randi.
“Her sister graduated four years ago and I joked with Taylor before the season that she was going for a lot of family records,” he said. “I think she’s gotten two or three of them.”
She is a quiet captain of the team.
“She’s not the most vocal leader but she leads by example,” he said. “She’s always doing the right thing and she’s always in the right spot. Everyone loves her. Some of the kids cheer harder for her then they do for their own siblings.
“She’s the kind of kid you want on your team every year and we’re going to miss her.”
Spitko will continue her education in the fall at Pitt, where she plans to major in business.
“I’m not sure if I’ll be on the swim team there because they’re really good,” she said. “But I can see myself doing club swimming just to stay active in the sport.”
