Christine Kuzminski is a sophomore at JCC and is a member of the Jayhawk swimming and diving team.  In high school she participated in swimming and diving (school and club), track, gymnastics, cheerleading, and rowing.  Among others, she was two-time Diver of the Year, an All-American diver as a freshman Jayhawk, and served as the varsity diving coach at Southwestern high school.  She was also a member of National Honor Society and president of the DNA Club.  Tom Daley is her favorite athlete.  Kuzminski plans to study Biochemistry and continue her diving career at Geneseo after graduation; eventually she hopes to go to medical school and work as a pediatrician.

Spotlight Athlete

Q. Knowing what you know now, how did you improve yourself to do better this year?

A. This year I got to work with a coach on a regular basis, which has helped tremendously, but also I have learned how to get out of my head during competitions. I would always get so nervous because I’m so competitive, but this year I decided that I am just going to compete against myself and that state of mind has helped me compete better.

Q: Does having such a small team affect your performance?

A. Not really! Swimming and Diving are such individual sports anyways, so it doesn’t really make a difference. Plus I really like everyone on the team so we have a really good time together.

Q: How do you balance your schoolwork and sports at the same time?

A. I like being busy and have always given myself a super packed schedule between school, sports, and jobs. I guess I’m really good at time management and I love doing all the things I do, so it makes it easy to give them all 100%.

Q: What is your favorite part of being a Jayhawk?

A. Being a Jayhawk has allowed me to meet many new people and gain new friendships.

Q: What are your goals for the future/career?

A. In the Spring I will obtain my associates in Biotechnology. I plan on attending UB in the fall for Biotechnology as well. Then I want to go to medical school to be a doctor. I am uncertain of which specialty yet. I will be diving at UB.

Q. Being a second year athlete, do you have any advice that you can give to upcoming athletes?

A. Give it your all, and you won’t be disappointed in the results! It’s better to push through and be happy with how you did, than to take it easy and regret your experience.

Q: What are your goals for the team/yourself this season?

A. My goal is to win diving at Regionals and possibly Nationals, but mostly just to get a personal best. I also want to place Top 3 in the 50 freestyle at Regionals. My goals for the team are to get some best times and enjoy our last few weeks of being a Jayhawk swimmer and/or diver together!