Land O’ Lakes High School junior Taylor Ward has announced her verbal commitment to Vanderbilt University’s class of 2023. Ward is a USA Swimming Scholastic All-American; she was runner-up in both the 200 free (1:50.27) and 500 free (4:56.57) as a junior at the 2017 FHSAA Class 2A Championships in November, and she added a 23.83 anchor to the third-place 200 free relay and a 52.03 anchor to the fourth-place 400 free relay.
“I’m excited to announce that I have verbally committed to Vanderbilt University! With Vanderbilt’s prestigious academics balanced with SEC athletics, I couldn’t be happier to be a part of the team and class of 2023!”
Ward swims year-round for Clearwater Aquatic Team. She is a Winter Juniors qualifier in the 200 free, 500 free, and 1000 free. After an excellent Futures meet last summer that saw her notch lifetime bests in the 200/400/800/1500 freestyles, Ward continued into her junior year of high school with time drops in the SCY 50/100/200/500 free, 50 back, 50/100 fly, and LCM 100 fly.
Ward’s best 500 free time is faster than Vandy’s school record. Her 1000 would be the second-fastest in Commodores’ history after freshman Lara Hernandez-Tome’s new school mark this season. Ward will have 2 seasons with Hernandez-Tome.
Top SCY times:
- 200 free – 1:49.65
- 500 free – 4:49.87
- 1000 free – 10:00.43
- 1650 free – 16:48.42
If you have a commitment to report, please send an email with a photo (landscape, or horizontal, looks best and a quote to [email protected].
Congrats Taylor!