Last Original JC Jet Swimmer Earns Scholarship

MADISON- While she battled through breaking both arms and a foot, Christina Tarsitano has made her way to a possible college education by way of a swimmer for the James Clemens swim team. The 5-foot-7 senior accepted an academic scholarship to Denison University of Ohio and plans on swimming for the NCAA Div. III program upon arriving next fall.

“When I found out I was receiving the scholarship I was extremely excited and proud as that showed my hard work in both academics and athletics paid off,” said Tarsitano, daughter of Chris and Tina Tarsitano. “This is a great feeling.”

Tarsitano’s main event in the pool is the 100 breastroke, which she owns the school record, but also participates in the 50, 100 and 200 freestyle. At last year’s AHSAA State Meet, she was part of the 400 freestyle relay that took third place.

This month, she was named the James Clemens female Wendy’s High School Heisman Award winner and qualified for a similar state wide award.

In 2012, she was named the Alabama Sports Foundation Female Athlete of the Year as she began swimming for both the Madison Dolphins and the Madison Swim Association teams where she captured state titles in the 50 breast and 100 freestyle. Since winning that honor, Tarsitano actually has had to overcome several injuries just to make the team at James Clemens where she has been a member since the seventh grade, making her the last original member of the squad when the school first opened in 2012.

Tarsitano broke one of her arms in a restaurant mishap in 2013, her other arm while swimming in 2015 when she accidently hit the wall of the pool and one of her feet while at the beach in 2016. “I still trained as much as I could during those injuries,” said Tarsitano who has been nicknamed “Bubbles” by her teammates.

She carries a 4.26 GPA, which ranks her in the top quarter of the James Clemens senior class. Besides swimming in college, her goal is to work on a degree in biology in the pre-med program with her sights set on becoming a forensic pathologist. She became enthralled with the science after taking a forensic class as a freshman.

After partaking in several sports as a young girl, Tarsitano chose swimming as her main sport at age 10. She added, “I really did like softball, but didn’t like soccer. I like the way swimming makes you feel calm and that drives me to push harder. The injuries I suffered are not an issue in this, my final season at James Clemens.”

Kate Wade, head coach of the James Clemens program since day one, said of her longtime team member, “Christina is a valued Jet on our team and she has made a strong impact on our team the past five years. We are excited that Christina will continue her swimming journey at the collegiate level and we look forward to cheering her on.”

For “Bubbles” her success has shown determination, grit and prowess in both the pool and classroom can overcome any obstacles.