EDWARDSVILLE - Jude Henke, a senior swimmer for Father McGivney Catholic, made history by becoming the first-ever Griffins' swimmer to qualify for the IHSA state meet, going 21.66 seconds in the 50-yard freestyle at the sectional swim meet Saturday afternoon at the Chuck Fruit Aquatic Center in Edwardsville.
Henke's qualifying time was one-tenth of a second faster than the qualifying time of 21.76 needed for non-winners of the event to go through to state.
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For his historic qualification to the state swimming meet, Henke has been named the school's Byron, Carlson, Petri and Kalp Athlete of the Month.
In an interview that followed his race in the 100-yard freestyle, Henke felt he swam well in both of his races.
"The 100 was a little bit slower, but I've always been stronger in the 50," Henke said.
To qualify for state fulfills a lifelong dream for Henke, and he was very happy about the accomplishment.
"It's been a goal since freshman year, so I finally made it," he said with a smile.
Henke was positive in assessing his overall performance on the day, but he also knows there's some room for improvement and adjustments to be made.
"I think it was, overall, a pretty good swim," Henke said.
Although the Griffins have gotten smaller in size as far as swimming is concerned, Henke has still enjoyed his time swimming for the school in his four years.
Henke is indeed the first Griffins swimmer to qualify for the state meet, and he feels it's quite the honor.
Henke has yet to decide if he'll swim in college or not but is still considering his options. And he's very pleased and honored to be able to go to the state meet.
"It's a great honor," Henke said.
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