By RICH FISHER
Contributing Editor
Since arriving at St. John Vianney, Holmdel, four years ago, Katie Buffalino has been a consistent dual-meet winner for the Lancers swim team. But the pool means much more to the senior than just beating other swimmers.
In her early life, it was a game-changer.
At age 1½, Buffalino was diagnosed with necrotizing pneumonia and spent more than two weeks in the hospital. Her pulmonologist told her parents to get Katie into a pool as much as possible so that her lungs could regrow with strength. She and her mom took Mommy and Me lessons every week – and it not only restored Buffalino’s health, it led to a new interest.
Katie Buffalino
Katie made a club team at age five and went on to participate in numerous competitions before high school.
“I absolutely see swimming as a silver lining,” Buffalino said. “When I started it was to help my health issues, but looking back at everything that swimming has given me – friends, opportunities – I am grateful.
“If I hadn’t been ‘pushed’ into swimming I would probably, health-wise, be in a worse place. That also pertains to my life. I wouldn’t have the job I have today [as a state park lifeguard] or the lifelong friendships I’ve made along the way.”
Buffalino has little memory of the early swim lessons since she was so young, but it led to her swimming club with Freehold-Old Bridge YMCA for seven years, followed by a stint with the Greater Monmouth YMCA. As an eight-year-old, seeing her name top the list on the finals score sheet verified in her mind she was pretty good. The validation strengthened a few years later when a coach used her pace during her 200 freestyle as an example at practice.
“I thought, ‘Wow, that’s pretty cool to hear,’” she recalled. “I remember that moment vividly, and I think that pushed me enough to continue working hard.”
Upon entering high school, the Spotswood resident decided to pursue soccer – she was a standout goalie for the Lancers – and gave up swimming. But not for long.
“It was a particularly difficult moment for me, especially since my entire upbringing had been centered around swimming,” she said. “It was this moment that made me realize how much I love the sport, a sort of ‘You don’t appreciate what you have until it’s gone,’ type of moment.”
She decided to swim for the Lancers in ninth grade and has done both sports for four years. Her focus was on soccer but working as a lifeguard kept her swimming skills sharp.
This year she has taken first in seven different events and amassed a total of 10 firsts and two seconds. Buffalino’s strength is as a sprinter, and she is focusing on dropping times in the 50 and 100 freestyle. The 200 IM is also a strong event.
Katie Buffalino cuts through the water in the breaststroke at a recent SJV meet. Courtesy photo
Katie has qualified for the Shore Conference Championships in the sprints and hopes to qualify with a relay team. Her main goal this year is to reach 26.50 in the 50 free, as she concentrates on times rather than places.
“High school swim is more of an opportunity to experience the sport I love just a few more times before I graduate,” she said. “While I am proud of my ability of return to the sport with a fair amount of ease, I have not yet made it to the point of placing at Shores or making States.”
Buffalino does make a point of practicing her faith. A lifelong Catholic school student, Katie attends Spotswood’s Immaculate Conception Parish, where she is an alter server. She is also a Eucharistic minister for SJV’s student body.
“To me, faith is a way to be part of a community,” Buffalino said. “It brings people with similar morals goals and ideas together in a single place where they can practice their faith in a comfortable way.
“Through school, my local parish and simply talking to other faithful people, I have learned so much about my faith and how it has helped others like me. In some of my darkest moments, I have relied on devotional prayer and the beauty of God’s great creation to help me get through.”
Speaking of helping others, Buffalino and her childhood pet, Coffee, are a therapy dog-and-handler team. At age 15 she was her local organization’s youngest volunteer. The two have attended various functions in Middlesex County and school-organized events such as charitable Halloween parties.
Katie Buffalino gets ready to start a backstroke race. Courtesy photo
“As a handler, it is my job to provide comfort and a little taste of joy in whatever way I can, as well as promote Bright and Beautiful Therapy Dogs by teaching individuals what it is that I do,” Buffalino said. “I have found so much fulfillment and pride in helping people, especially children who just need a little boost to get them through their day or even their summer.”
At SJV, Buffalino is president of the Key Club and Ambassador’s Club and has tutored students through the school’s National Honor Society. She also writes letters to accepted students and films promotional videos for the school.
Her next step will be college with the goal of earning a degree in biomedical sciences. She plans on becoming a pediatric oncologist, “so that I may help children battling a devastating illness.”
Something she knows a little about.