Spitting image of greatness: L.I. girl Taylor Haiduk takes seed title on 'Jimmy Fallon' show

BY Erin Durkin
DAILY NEWS WRITER

Tuesday, August 4th 2009, 4:00 AM

Long Island's Taylor Haiduk spat her way to glory Monday, besting the competition to win the Watermelon Seed Spitting Competition on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon."

The 12-year-old Taylor spat her seed 18 feet, narrowly defeating Chris Harrington of New Hampshire.

Fallon spat a couple of seeds himself, but not before the Bellmore seventh-grader gave him a few pointers.

"He wanted to try it out and I had to show him the technique," Taylor said. "He tried to spit the seed. But he didn't get it on the mat, so it didn't count."

Her strategy? "I breathe in through my stomach and then just shoot," she said.

Taylor is a newcomer to competitive seed spitting who discovered her hidden talent at a July 4 qualifying competition at Great Adventure in Jackson, N.J.

Now she's hooked. From now on, "whenever there's a contest, I'll be sure to enter it," she said.

For her seed-spitting prowess, Taylor took home an iPod Touch, $100 cash, and a gold watermelon trophy.

"Jimmy Fallon signed it for me," she boasted.

She admitted she was nervous in her national TV debut, which will make a great story for her classmates when school starts next month.

"I actually do well under pressure, so it was okay," she said. "It was really exciting."