Falcon Pride Top Ten #6: Spalding Qualifies for State Swim Meet After Breaking Own School Record

As the unofficial start to the 2026 fall sports season quickly approaches, AustintownAthletics.com will close the month of June by taking a look back at the top ten sports moments from the 2025-2026 school year. The list will feature the most memorable and notable individual and team performances, achievements, and milestones as selected by members of the Austintown Fitch Athletic Department.

The Falcon Pride Top Ten Countdown will begin on June 20 with #10 and continue through the end of the month with the #1 sports moment of the year. As always, thank you to all of Falcon Country for your continued support of our student-athletes both on the field and, most importantly, in the classroom. Keep celebrating your Falcon Pride!

After another strong season in which he showed consistent improvement in the pool, William Spalding's hopes of qualifying for the OHSAA State Swim Meet came down to a "swim off" at the District Championships. Spalding achieved a third place tie in the 50M Freestyle event which automatically requires a head-to-head competition between the swimmers tied for third since only the top three placers advance to the state meet.

In the "swim off," Spalding broke fast against the representative from Wooster High School who couldn't gain any ground on the Fitch junior. With a time of 21.92, Will broke his own school record for the third time in his career. But this time it guaranteed him a ticket to state as the 32nd seed.

His junior season also saw Spalding capture the All-American Conference Championship in the 50M Freestyle, earning him an All-Conference Team selection. Spalding now heads into his senior year with his focus set on returning to state at the end of the 2026-27 season.