Havice Makes Waves
Dallastown junior leads her team to success in and out of the pool.
Swimming a fast time of 23.80 seconds in states, is Julia Havice. She swam the 50 free and was awarded for her eighth place finish with a medal.
Everyone dreams of shattering records and making history, but Julia Havice doesn’t have to dream to achieve.
Havice started her swimming career at the young age of 10 and has been swimming for the Dallastown High School Swim Team for two years now. She also swims on the York and York County YMCA club team.
“I started swimming because I’ve always enjoyed being in the pool, I never wanted to leave,” Havice says.
It’s a good thing Havice found swimming and the freestyle stroke. She just won back-to-back district championships in the 50 and 100 free and came in fourth in the 200 breaststrokes. She also set multiple records throughout the season, including records at other schools.
“I’ve set the 100 free, 100 fly, and 50 free school records. I’ve also set pool records at other schools like Central and Spring Grove,” Havice shares.
Havice also just placed eighth in states in the 50 free at Kinney Natatorium in Lewisburg, PA. The State Championships took place March 17-18, 2023.
Although freestyle is her best event, Havice’s favorite stroke to swim is the backstroke. But, when it comes to racing, her favorite stroke is the butterfly. She also swims the IM, which includes all four strokes at the same time.
Havice is not only thriving in the pool but also outside of the pool. She has a bubbly personality and is often found as someone her teammates go to put a smile on their faces.
“Julia is funny, kind and supportive of her teammates, humble, competitive, and intelligent,” swim team coach McHenry says.
Teammate and sophomore Bella Wilkinson agrees.
“Julia is someone who never fails to put a smile on anyone’s face. She is an energetic, kind, funny, and a great person to be around, ” Wilkinson said.
Julia has no doubt pushed me as a swimmer in practice and in meets so that I can be the best swimmer I can be — Isabella Wilkinson
Even though Havice seems to be on top of the world right now, she opens up to the struggles of balancing both her swim life and her grades. Havice shares that week-long swim meets often challenge her when completing homework.
Despite the fact that swim practices and meets, and school work can be hard to balance, Havice shows no sign of stopping her career after high school.
“I was looking into Northeastern in Boston and the University of Rhode Island. Possibly UConn,” the junior says.
Although she still has another year to compete for DHS, when Havice leaves Dallastown, she’ll be leaving behind a great school career filled with tons of metal accessories, but her success will be a part of our history for a very long time.
At the end of all of it, Havice shares, “I want people to know that swimming is hard, but the payout is so worth it.”
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