Junior swimmer Spencer Maist has had a successful first two years of high school swimming and looks to make a big leap in his junior season.
“This year my main goal is to qualify in the 100 backstroke at the WPIAL Championships,” Maist said.
Maist started swimming to stay active during the school year. Swimming became easy for him after he started seeing it as a good opportunity.
“I joined the club swim team in the summer before freshman year and joined the varsity team in the fall of the same year,” he said.
Senior Evan Stokes considers Maist the backbone of the team.
“Spencer always gives the team 110 percent,” Stokes said. “Whether we’re in practice or at a meet, we can always count on him to do a good job.”
Maist carries a winning mentality.
“I would love to see a lot of my teammates, including myself, qualify for WPIALs and have a chance to win,” he said.
His quick success caught the attention of his teammates.
“Spencer is always working hard to get better in practice because he’s focused on qualifying for WPIALs,” Stokes said.
Although Maist is focused on his goals, he still finds time to have fun at practices.
“He is always laughing and having fun at practice. But when it comes down to it, he is always ready for whatever he needs to do in practice,” senior Alayna Kertcher said.
Just as Maist is getting lots of praise from the seniors on the team, he in turn has high hopes for their success this season.
“We have a very strong senior class, so most of them will be able to qualify for WPIALs this year,” he said.
Maist hopes he can shave seconds off of his times to have a good chance at WPIALs.
“This year I am going to focus more on my personal events and build off of my times from last year. If I focus on practice, I’ll be able to easily win my races and go to WPIALs,” Maist said.
He said he appreciates being with his teammates and has made great memories with them.
“Meet days are always the most memorable for me,” Maist said. “Everyone on the team gets together and has fun when our teammates win races or even if we are not doing too well. The bus rides home from away meets are also memorable.”
