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Forget all of the state medals. Disregard all of the district championships. Erase the litany of school records already in her name.
Selfless for a high school sophomore, Wyoming Seminary’s Tara Kupsky continually steers the conversation, her memories of this season to three things: relays, a regular season meet, and her sister, Paige.
Kupsky was named the 2016 Times Leader Girls Swimmer of the Year after leading Wyoming Seminary to a historic season.
The Blue Knights, a team that swims meets in a shadowy four-lane pool, took second at the district championships and 17th at the PIAA championships. Not only did Wyoming Seminary improbably win the Ray Willis Invitational at Wyoming Valley West – the area’s most competitive regular season meet participated by top 2A and 3A schools – it beat the field by a resounding 50 points.
“I thought the year went really fantastically for our team,” Tara said. “Going into it we were discouraged because our team was so small. But that we could take second at districts and win the Willis Invitational says something about what we accomplished.”
Overcoming mid-season blues that didn’t result in anticipated time drops, Tara picked things up in the postseason with three District 2 Class 2A championships. She defeated the defending champion, her sister Paige, in the 200 IM in 2:09.68. Tara squared up against the WVC’s second-fastest swimmer, Abby Zolner of Dallas, in the 500 free and won by five seconds with a 5:10.23.
Two weeks later, Tara won a PIAA medal by garnering eighth place in the 200 IM, staying relatively consistent with her district swam with a 2:09.91. She dropped three seconds off her time in the 500 free for an 11th place showing of 5:07.64.
“It was really exciting going into states,” Tara said. “I knew I had a decent chance based off my seeds. I was sort of nervous but it was like any race. I did the 200 IM so many times it was like any other race almost.”
And then there was the highlight of her season – the 400 free relay. The Kupsky sisters joined the Baur sisters (Ava and Julia) to shatter school and pool records throughout the season, many of which were set by the esteemed 2002 Bishop Hoban squad.
Paige anchored the Blue Knights to a 3:37.43 finish for a district title. The 400-free relay was one-hundredths of a second shy of medaling at states, but responded by slashing 37-hundredths off their record in the consolation final for ninth place.
“The 400 free relay was just so fun,” Tara said. “We improved our time meet after meet. You could see that we were enjoying ourselves during that race. It was amazing.”
The Kupskys moved to the Wyoming Valley from Southeast Pennsylvania between Tara’s eighth and ninth grade years. Paige attended swimming powerhouse Germantown Academy for two seasons and helped her younger sister with the transition to a new school and location. Paige graduates this May and will attend Bucknell next year as a member of the track and field team.
“I was glad I had Paige with me,” Tara said. “Part of why I was so confident was because I had her with me. Paige and I really push each other. The transition was a lot different for me because I was only a freshman.”
After her older sister had the upper hand last season with a district gold and state medal, Tara outdid her with two district titles, perhaps showing her up a little by beating her by three seconds in the individual medley.
“It was really fun,” Tara said. “Personally, I had a tough time knowing she was not going to be here next year. But I’m so happy with how it played out for her last season.”
There will be no respite for opposing WVC swimmers next season. Another Kupsky sister, April, joins the team as a freshman.