The junior, seeded first for both events, picked up All-America consideration for her butterfly swim, finishing in 57.28. She touched more than 2.5 seconds ahead of the runner-up, Surry Central's Morgan Robertson (59.86).
Prim outdueled Elkin's Sarah Neaves for the 50 free gold medal. Prim's time was 24.72, with Neaves touching in 24.84.
"There is a great amount of pressure when you are seeded first," said Oz Prim, Julianna's father and coach of the Starmount and Elkin teams. "I was pleased -- and relieved."
Prim accomplished her feat despite not tapering fully for the meet. Usually, a swimmer will gear down their training from two to four weeks leading up to a big meet to produce optimal times. But Prim kept going hard until just a few days before the state finals.
She'll save her full tapering for the two most important upcoming meets of the year-round short course season -- the senior championships in a few weeks in Huntersville and the YMCA Nationals in Fort Lauderdale in April.
"I was pretty pleased with my times," Julianna said. "I was a little slower in the butterfly (than last season, 56.94) but you can't beat two state titles. I had a choice of five events, but I was comfortable with those two. They gave me the best chances."
The All-America time standard ranks Prim in the top 120-130 swimmers in the nation at the high school level. Her swim last year was 88th best in the nation.
Starmount also got team points from sophomore Kimberly Benton in Saturday's finale. She placed 13th in the 100 fly (1:06.72) and 15th in the 100 backstroke (1:07.72). She dropped her time in the 100 fly by a full second from her entry time.
"I could have done better in the backstroke," Benton said. "Next year, I'm hoping to be more like top 10."
Prim has been swimming for as long as she can remember. She started competitive swimming at age nine for the Winston-Salem YMCA and has been a long-time member of the summer recreation team in Elkin, the Wet Lightning.
She does the bulk of her training now days -- up to two and a half hours per day -- at the Yadkin Family YMCA in Yadkinville. She lifts weights a few times a week and does other types of "dry land" exercises like plyometrics, which enhance strength, flexibility and explosiveness.
Her broad shoulders make her an optimal sprinter and butterfly specialist.
"In the butterfly, if you have a rhythm it's good," she said. "If you lose your legs, though, it gets harder."
Prim also plays a good bit of basketball in her training. She might have been part of Starmount's hoops program the past couple of seasons if not for a Yadkin County rule that doesn't allow student-athletes to participate in more than one varsity sport per season.
"She loves basketball, but if she goes a day without swimming, she feels she hasn't done anything," Oz Prim said.
Father and daughter both praised the support that Starmount administrators, students and parents have given them. They are also thankful that the Yadkin YMCA is where it is, making training much easier than driving to Pilot Mountain, Mount Airy or Winston-Salem on a daily basis.
"The Y has really been a blessing," Oz Prim said.
Prim and Benton both had a sizable crowd of supporters on hand in Raleigh over the weekend. Swimming is one of the few sports where Elkin and Starmount fans cheer for another, and that remained the case at the state meet.
Former Elkin standout Steven Caudill came to the state meet to root on Prim, Benton and other area swimmers. So did former Starmount state qualifier Ethan Crews.
Prim then became one of Neaves' biggest cheerleaders when Neaves competed in -- and won -- the 100 freestyle.
"She deserves a state title," Julianna said.
Julianna, who won the 200 butterfly at Y Nationals last summer, is very self-motivated, according to her father. In her training with the Winston-Salem YMCA she also has found plenty of competition to push her to even greater heights.
The result has been performances worthy of All-America consideration and times that are close to qualifying for the Olympic Trials.
Prim is obviously on the radar screen of several college programs, including NC State, Florida State, North Carolina and Gardner-Webb (where Oz Prim once teached). Her winning times in Saturday's events would put her among the top competitors currently in the ACC, Oz said.
But for now, Julianna is content to enjoy being a high school junior with big dreams and an already impressive resume of results.
"We just feel so blessed," Oz said.
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