Upper Dublin swimmer Abbie Amdor went from nearly quitting to PIAA state champion

Six years ago, Abbie Amdor almost said goodbye.

After a rough day at school and practice, the Upper Dublin senior swimmer considered ending her career in the pool until her brother, Wyatt, offered this advice: Don’t quit.

“He was always there to help me through it,” Amdor said. “He kept pushing to keep swimming.”

Eventually, all that swimming translated into success for Amdor. In her final season at Upper Dublin, she earned girls’ swimmer of the meet honors at the PIAA Class 3A swimming and diving championships in March at Bucknell.

Amdor, who will swim at Penn State next year, won the 100- and 200-yard freestyle events at the state championships. Her final list of schools before choosing the Nittany Lions included Louisiana State, Nebraska, Kentucky and Virginia Tech.

“If you asked me back in middle school, ‘Would I be in the place that I am today?’ I wouldn’t have said, ‘Yes,’ ” Amdor said. “[Wyatt] has really influenced me over the years and still continues to.”

Amdor was her brother’s biggest supporter when he started swimming for their local club. She used to get anxious cheering in the stands for Wyatt, who is now a junior swimmer at Kentucky.

“She’s always admired me,” Wyatt Amdor said of his sister. “And as much as she hasn’t noticed, I also admire her.”

Wyatt Amdor was able to stay updated on Abbie’s races during the state competition through Meet Mobile, an app that keeps swimming fans updated on races across the country. Every time one of Amdor’s meets ended, Wyatt received a notification on his phone.

Abbie Amdor places first in the 100-yard freestyle.

Abbie Amdor places first in the 200-yard freestyle.

Abbie Amdor helps Upper Dublin win the 400 medley relay.

“No matter if it’s a good swim or a bad swim, it’s still nice to see how she’s progressing,” Wyatt Amdor said.

In her time at Upper Dublin, Amdor grew into a leadership role, girls’ swimming coach Pat Redican said.

At states, freshman swimmer Meghan DiMartile started the 200 medley relay early, which disqualified the Cardinals from the race.

Amdor noticed that DiMartile became upset after the blunder, so Amdor talked it over with her.

“Abbie was the only senior that was swimming up at states,” Redican said. “The girls looked to her, and they had great meets because Abbie was leading them.”

After Amdor encouraged DiMartile to keep her head up and focus on the next race, DiMartile won the 100 backstroke the next day.

Overall, the Cardinals finished second behind North Penn in the state team competition, and Redican said he is grateful Amdor was a part of it and didn’t quit in middle school.

“Abbie was a big part of our success this year,” Redican said. “Without her, we wouldn’t have been where we were.”