BHS Standout Swimmer Amelia Romano Signs Letter of Intent with Clarion University
By Chris Johnson on March 13, 2025
Bridgeport High School standout swimmer Ameila Romano signed her National Letter of Intent on Wednesday with Clarion University.
The signing ceremony took place at BHS in front of a crowd of family, friends, teammates and coaches.
“I had a lot of visits leading up to my decision of Clarion,” Romano said. “Clarion was my last visit I had scheduled. It was after counties (Harrison County Championship meet), really busy time being in-season.
“All the other campuses, nothing really felt like home. I walked onto the Clarion campus; I walked into their pool and it felt like home. The coach and I immediately clicked and I just knew that’s where I was meant to be.
“I think I’m really going to benefit there and I think I chose the right option for myself and my career.”
Romano is one of the most decorated swimmers in school history. In addition to the numerous county, Big 10 Conference wins and records, as well as school records, she won an individual state championship in 2023, taking first place in the 200 freestyle at the state meet.
She capped her senior season by helping the BHS girls capture the Class AAA team title.
“Last year, winning the 200 freestyle was not in my plans at all,” Romano said. “It just kind of fell into place. This year, definitely winning a state title wasn’t in my plans either. If you would have told me I was going to win a state championship in the middle of the season, I would have said that you were lying.
“But, things happen and definitely ending it the way I did this year makes me happy. My grandmother passed away earlier in the summer and my whole goal this year was to dedicate it to her. This whole day is just amazing and I couldn’t ask for anything more from my high school career.”
Romano has also had plenty of success at the club level in the offseason and now she is excited to be a collegiate swimmer.
“It’s really exciting,” she said. “It’s everything I’ve ever wanted since I was a little girl. To keep swimming is definitely something everybody else around me has known for a while. But putting pen to paper today, it really makes me want to keep going.”
Versatility has been one of Romano’s strengths as she has competed in just about every event possible thus far in her career. She said she is hopeful to continue with the butterfly and freestyle but initial talks with her Clarion coach have her being to help out wherever she is needed.
“She said I’m going to be an asset to the team, so I’m excited to see what she can bring me there to do,” Romano said.
Not only his her athletic career after graduation. Romano already has set an academic path with a clear goal in mind for what she wants to do after college.
“I’m going to go into criminal justice and I hope to be a prosecuting attorney,” she said. “I want to come back home and go to West Virginia’s law school and go from there. I come from a family of attorneys.”
