James Wood High School 17-year-old junior
Sport: Swimming. Main events: 50 free and 100 butterfly
Parents: Jolene and Chris Harty
Hometown: Winchester
What do you love about swimming?: I love how peaceful it is. I can clear out my mind from anything else and just focus on swimming, and trying to get better.
Most memorable moment in swimming: Whenever we have our [annual] team party. We play water polo, and its’s really fun to see everybody on the same team get competitive.
Most embarrassing moment in swimming: When I was little, I dove into the water wrong, and I got a concussion. I think I was around 10 years old.
Most difficult moment in swimming: Coming back from injuries, because I’ve broken my arm before, I’ve hurt my chest. It’s just hard to get back to where you were from before you were hurt.
Three people you can have dinner with, dead or alive: Toby Keith and Hank Williams Jr.; they’re two of my favorite singers. And Cleetus McFarland; he’s a race car driver who bought his own track (the Freedom Factory oval track in Bradenton, Florida). I think it’s pretty cool how he turned it into a very profitable business.
Biggest athletic influences: My coaches and my family, because they’re always pushing me to try and better myself.
Favorite teacher: Ms. [Christine] Fairis. She’s my scope (study hall) and economics teacher, and she’s always happy every day. She always makes class fun.
Favorite athlete: [Former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback] Ben Roethlisberger
Favorite team: Pittsburgh Steelers
Favorite movie: “Project X”
Favorite TV show: “Ozark”
Favorite song: “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Favorite food: Hamburgers. That’s the first thing I look for whenever I go somewhere.
Worst thing you’ve eaten: Guacamole
Plans after high school: I hope to go to Penn Tech for two years and get my associate degree in excavation and grading. Running heavy equipment and building warehouses, learning how to move all the land, it’s just something that’s always been very interesting to me, and I’ve enjoyed doing it, too.
— Compiled by Robert Niedzwiecki