Tucson High School sophomore Vita Carr was always destined to be a swimmer.
The 16-year-old student comes from a line of competitive swimmers, including her mother and grandfather. So, it was no surprise to anyone when Carr wanted to join a summer swim team when she was just 6 years old.
A few years later, she joined her current club team, Aqua Fit Tucson, with whom she’s been swimming year-round since she was 11.
“It’s just something I’ve always been really passionate about,” she said of her love for swimming.
Now, the third-generation swimmer is leaving her mark on Tucson High’s swim team. She recently finished up her second season with the team and is currently ranked No. 12 in the state and No. 8 in her division, DI, for the 100-yard fly.
At the Southern Arizona Qualifier event, she set her best personal record with a time of 58.30 during the 100-yard fly. By the time she finishes her high school career in 2027, she aims to finish in the 54-second range.
But, she’s not only fast, according to her swim coach at Tucson High, Janet Reyes. She’s a bubbly teammate, too.
“She’s outstanding across the board,” Reyes said. “She’s a sophomore and last year as a freshman, she qualified. And Division I is extremely hard to qualify for. And now she’s a sophomore and she’s a top (competitor) for one of her events and she has a great attitude when it comes to herself and her team. She’s super motivational to them.”
While Carr has been working diligently to reach her time goal, most of her efforts lately have been focused on preparing for the AIA Swim & Dive State Championships that were held this past weekend in the Phoenix area.
In preparation for the championships, Carr implemented new elements into her routine, such as hitting the weight room at school more often and increasing the distance of her morning run for extra endurance. And, of course, giving her muscles much-needed rest.
“I’m most looking forward to being able to compete,” she said days before the championships. “The rest of my meets this season have just been straight four weeks of training, so having a little bit of a taper before this meet is exciting and I’m excited to see what I can do. … I tend to get pretty nervous, but I’ve been really working on regulating that. I think I’m doing pretty good with that right now. So, it’s mostly excitement.”
At the state championships, Carr finished ninth with a time of 59.80 in the 100-yard fly.
“From last year to this year, she’s definitely more confident in her races and being prepared more and last year she was really fortunate to qualify, but I think she was able to learn a lot as a freshman and able to mentally bring it to the pool,” Reyes said.
Outside of the pool, Carr is a distinguished student who currently holds a 4.3 GPA. This semester she’s taking three AP courses, an honors math class and a sports medicine and body conditioning class.
With little to no free time between school and swim, you’ll often find Carr doing homework or reading at the University of Arizona Recreation Center pool before swim practice or at coffee shops with her friends.
Staying on top of her schoolwork requires a lot of time management and to-do lists, she says. During the summer months when Carr isn’t in school, she helps coach her club team’s 8 and under group.
For her assistance and guidance in the summer swim program, she was awarded the Alex Urman Award of Leadership — an honor she was “very happy” to receive, she says.
“It’s an award that our summer swim team gives to two people every summer and it’s based off of someone who helps out on the team and really is a big part of the community,” she said. “And I really like that community, so that was a big deal for me.”
Following her graduation in a couple of years, Carr hopes to attend a DI university where she’ll swim competitively. She plans to major in psychology and double minor in nutrition and sports medicine.
She eventually wants to coach swim at an elite level.
But before she heads down that road, her focus remains on bringing the Tucson High spirit to every meet and reaching her goal of 54 seconds in the 100-yard fly.
“These kids are amazing athletes and honestly, amazing students,” Reyes said. “I have the valedictorian on the swim team for their senior class and I have five other seniors that are in the top 20 of their senior classes here. And that’s what I want to start building, having amazing athletes (like Carr) and wanting the community to come and support these athletes, too.”
Get to know Vita
What is your one pre-swim necessity?
A Celsius energy drink.
What is your favorite coffee drink?
A vanilla latte, preferably from Screwbean Brewing.
What book are you currently reading?
“The Da Vinci Code” by Dan Brown.
If you could swim anywhere in the world, where would you like to swim?
Australia.
What is your current favorite class?
Body conditioning or English.
