Upper Dublin boys, girls teams top Cheltenham

UPPER DUBLIN >> Abbie and Wyatt Amdor are a unique pair.

A brother and sister act that is doing its part to keep the Upper Dublin High boys and girls swimming programs in the hunt for District One glory, the Amdors are talented, close and ultimately content.

Abbie, a freshman, and Wyatt, a senior, both contributed to the Cardinals sweep of Cheltenham Thursday afternoon, Abbie winning both the 500 freestyle and taking part in the victorious 200-yard medley relay team’s victory, while Wyatt also notched first-place finishes in the 500 and the 200 IM while taking part in both the 200-yard medley relay team and the 200 free relay teams that both finished first in the dual victories (Upper Dublin’s boys won, 103-70, and the girls were victorious, 90-88, although both Cardinals teams stopped scoring after they were far enough in the lead).

The zaniness is that neither Amdor is a regular in the 500. In fact, both count the 100 and 200 freestyle and the 100 breaststroke as their respective specialties, and certainly neither is a distance standout.

“If I trained at it, I probably could be really good at it,” Abbie said, “but I’m usually not a distance swimmer.”

“This is the worst time to be a swimmer,” Wyatt said. “Everybody’s beat down and worn out.

“You just have to keep your focus and swim through the pain.”

Raised in a swimming family in which both their father and aunt were pool regulars, the Amdors both dabbled in plenty of sports as youngsters, with Wyatt ultimately having to decide between football and swimming and Abbie dangling a toe in just about every sport she could until she became an 11-month-a-year swimmer.

For Wyatt the decision to swim or play football was a tough one. And while he looks back at the success the Cardinals football team enjoyed over the last couple of seasons, he has no regrets about his decision.

“No, I don’t feel that way,” he said about missing out on the Cardinals state-playoff appearance. “In fact, I know most of those guys and I went to as many football games as I could. It was a cool experience watching them go as far as they did.”

As for Abbie, she kind of followed her brother’s lead, and said that Wyatt has been her biggest booster.

“It was the family aspect of swimming that got me to choose it as my sport,” she said, “and Wyatt has always been there for me, encouraging me and helping me when I need it.

“I think we’re closer because of swimming.”

Abbie has set lofty goals around the sport.

“I’d like to make states as a freshman, and by the end of my senior year I’d like to make it to the Olympic trials,” she said. “I think I can do it.”

In the meantime, the duo will continue doing their respective parts to try and return the Cardinals to the district victory stand that has eluded them in each of the last two seasons when North Penn flexed its muscles in the District One tournament.

“Our team has been through a lot,” Wyatt said. “Last year was a tough year for us. North Penn came in and gave us a pretty good beating.

“We’ve all come back this year with a lot of incentive, and with a lot of determination.

“I can see this team going pretty far. We feel we have a good shot to get back to where we were.”