2,046.6 miles.
That’s the distance that Valencia High School grad and former Paseo Aquatics swimmer Julia Wolf had to travel to the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana from Santa Clarita about a year ago to get her college swimming career underway.
Moving more than halfway across the country, the freshman admits that it’s still taking some time getting used to the weather, but overall, the transition has gone better than expected.
“I’m adjusting pretty well, I would say,” Wolf said. “I’ve gotten really close to my teammates and I’m still not used to the weather, it’s still a little cold. It’s really different from growing up in Southern California where there’s a lot of people and its close to a big city, but I like that I’ve been able to experience both.”
Enrolling at Indiana University, Wolf understood that the past year would be difficult, but never wavered on her ultimate goal of winning the B1G (Big Ten) title in her freshman year.
Accomplishing her goal at the B1G Conference Championships on Feb. 23, Wolf was an integral part of the No. 17-ranked Hoosiers knocking off No. 2-ranked Michigan Wolverines to claim the school’s sixth B1G title and their first B1G title since 2011.
“My goal was to win the B1G and make NCAA’s, which I accomplished both, but I probably wanted to swim a lot faster by now,” Wolf said. “We still have NCAAs and hopefully, I can get my times down by then.”
Wolf placed 10th in the 50-yard freestyle (22.53 seconds), 11th in the 100-yard freestyle (49.35) and was also part of the third-place 200-yard freestyle relay team (Wolf, Christine Jensen, Shelby Koontz, Laurel Eiber) that finished in 1:28.49 and set the benchmark for the fastest time this year.
The chemistry and camaraderie that Wolf developed with her teammates, over the course of the year has flourished and developed into a family atmosphere.
“So fun — ur sprint group at IU is super close,” Wolf said. “There are probably 15 of us, but we pretty much do everything together, no matter if your a senior or a freshman. We work out together, pretty much everyday, twice a day. You get really close with everyone and you go through a lot of of pain together.”
Wolf’s IU swim family qualified for the the NCAA tournament that is set to begin on March 20-23 in Austin, Texas Wolf hopes to carry over the same passion and tenacity that she exuded at the B1G Conference Championships and win another team title.
“If you see some girl before you on your team swim crazy fast, it does so much for your confidence and it’s inspiring because you are there cheering and you want the best for your team,” Wolf said. “You see them every day working so hard and to see it paying off, it just inspires you to go and give it everything you have.”
