Midview history-maker Grace Henely shooting for top 16 finish at state swim meet

Grace Henely made school history last season. This season she figured she might as well make some more. Henely was the first Midview swimmer ever to qualify for the state meet a year ago when she won the 100-yard breaststroke at the Division I district meet. Saturday the senior became the first Middie to make it to two state meets when she defended her district title at Bowling Green State University in a school-record time of 1:05.01. Henely is the No. 8 seed out of 32 swimmers at this weekend's state meet in Canton. Prelims begin Friday at 9 a.m. with the top 16 swimmers advancing to Saturday's finals (top 16) at 3 p.m. A year ago, Henely was the No. 20 seed and that's right where she ended up, finishing 20th in 1:07.25. She missed the cut for the finals by one second. This time around, her goal is to make the top 16 and possibly even the A final (top 8). "It means a lot to me to be able to qualify back to the state meet," Henely said. "My high school didn't have a swim team my freshman or sophomore year, so it means a lot being able to represent my school for two years in a row and compete at the high school level." Henely rebounded after taking second to Rocky River senior Carolyn Wanosik, 1:07.40 to 1:07.56, at the Northwest sectional Feb. 10 at Cleveland State. Wanosik was second Saturday in 1:06.15. "This has definitely been my focus all year to be able to swim the 100 breast again at state," Henely said. "Some of my biggest challenges were staying on target with training. Last year I got mono near the end of the season. I got very sick again back in December during one of our taper meets. Another challenge has been balancing my senior year activities but also committing to going to practice every single day and staying focused on my goals. Staying focused on my goals and trusting my coach helped me be prepared for the district meet." A track and cross country runner since middle school, Henely dropped her two running sports this year to focus on swimming. "All coaches like to say their swimmers are hard workers or that they're dedicated, however, very few actually are willing to do what it takes to reach the next level," second-year Midview coach Katie Pierce said. "Following last season, Grace decided she wanted to take that step. She made swimming her only sport, started a new strength program and followed the plan to a T. Her progress and success has been the result of that decision. We planned to do what we have done every day this season and stuck with our plan. We swam the way we planned to race and let the results be what they may. Grace has done an outstanding job of focusing on the steps and not the outcome." It hasn't been an easy road, especially with Midview not having a swim team. "We've always had swimmers from the Midview School District in our club program — CLE Swimming — and we really wanted the kids to be able to have the chance to experience high school swimming like all their friends," Pierce said. "We reached out to Dan May, our athletic director, about being able to offer this opportunity to swimmers at Midview. He was super supportive and we created a program for swimmers in our district with the full support and approval of Midview Schools. It's been a great success and we look forward to continuing to grow the program." It's been a slow but satisfying start to the program with only two swimmers this year. However, both of them — Henely and her sister, Reagan, a sophomore — were successful with Reagan being a district qualifier. "My CLE club coach Rich Szczepinski really pushed for me to be able to compete at the high school level and wanted me to have the opportunity to compete at more meets," Henely said. "The hardest part was trying to get other teams to have meets against us, but it all ended up working out." Henely's competitive swim career began at age 6 with the Westlake Waves Swim Club. After four years she moved on to the Ridgewood YMCA Dolphins before joining CLE Swimming in 2021. "I first got started because my parents (Nicole and Aaron) wanted my sisters and I to learn how to swim and then to be able to compete," Henely said. "My dad was one of my coaches up until I was 12. My coaches and friends that I've made along the way have kept me motivated and wanting to come to practice every day. The environment is good and being able to see my friends every day is really fun." Even though this is only her second high school postseason, she has solid swim credentials. She competed at Speedo sectionals four times and recently earned a qualifying time for USA Swimming Futures (July 26-29), a stepping stone meet between sectionals and junior nationals. "I just always liked swimming breaststroke," Henely said. "Even when I was little it was one of my favorite events to swim. It's my favorite event because I love to swim it and it's my best event. It does demand a lot of skill and there's always something to work on or improve on, but to me it's just fun to swim and I enjoy it." Her coach is enjoying the ride, as well. "Working with Grace has been so much fun," Pierce said. "I'm so proud of everything she's accomplished and still has yet to. We're really looking forward to this weekend and are hoping for another great race that will get her to finals." Contact Paul Heyse at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.