Colby Harvey Swims Toward Her Dream

When Colby Harvey signed her letter of intent to attend Florida State University, she joined the ranks of the few Waynflete student athletes who have gone on to Division I colleges. For Colby, it’s a dream come true.

 “When I visited a few Division I schools earlier this year, I got a taste for what the atmosphere is like,” Colby says. “I’ve wanted this for a long time and FSU just gave me that gut feeling.” She’ll leave Maine this summer to head south and begin training as a member of the Seminoles women’s swim team.

 Colby learned to swim at the tender age of four, and started competing when she was seven. Her father, Jim, swam for Bucknell University and the U.S. National team, and later coached at the University of Nebraska. “I loved swimming and being in the water as a kid,” says Colby.  “I would swim until my skin was pruny.”

 Colby joined the Waynflete swim team as a freshman, the year the School resurrected the team that won the Southwestern title back in 1949. There were 13 students on the swim team in 2011 – this year’s team boasts 26.

 Colby says it’s hard to put into words what she loves about competitive swimming, but the smile on her face says a lot.  “For one thing, I love to win,” she says. She also loves to challenge herself. “When you dive into the water it’s a huge adrenaline rush. It’s all up to you at that point. It’s just you in the water and you know what you have to do.”

 Colby swims as part of the Waynflete team as well as Coastal Maine Aquatics. She competes in the breast stroke, the back stroke, freestyle and fly, and she currently holds the Maine Class B record for the 100 butterfly.