Liberty High School freshman, Julia McCarthy, took first place in the 200 IM, winning district gold at the District XI Swimming Championships on Feb. 28 at Parkland High School.

"I guess it was almost shock, but I have to admit, I had a few tears of joy. The pain I felt during the race was worth it," said McCarthy.

McCarthy won the 200 IM with a time of 2:08.09.

"Before the race, I didn't expect to win at all. [Parkland's] Erika Freeman had a faster seed time than me. I thought she would win, but then I thought, why not just go for it. Anyway, I was in the mood to race," McCarthy said.

McCarthy took it out hard and hung with the other lanes during the first leg, the butterfly. During the second leg, the backstroke, McCarthy began to get tired. By the third leg, the breaststroke, things began to change for McCarthy.

"Since this is my stroke, I always try to pick up speed," she said.

Not only was McCarthy competing against Freeman, but Freedom junior, Carly DelFranco, another top breaststroker.

"I saw I was turning at the same time as [Freeman] and realized I'm right next to her," said McCarthy. "In the freestyle [the last leg], they were turning after me. I went, and I never looked back."

McCarthy's time in the 200 IM was a five second drop for the Hurricane swimmer, and as a freshman, the honor of winning was significant.

"I would like to say it means a lot to me. I don't think anyone ever expected me to win. It doesn't really happen, but I wanted to show everyone what I could do, and I did," she said.

Joining McCarthy at the PIAA State Swimming Championships next week at Bucknell University will be teammates, Emily Cecchini, Kayla Drago, and Rachel Rider, who won bids to compete after the district meet.

Rider was third in the 100 butterfly and Drago was tied for fourth. Drago was also fifth in the 100 free. McCarthy was also third in the 100 breaststroke