Senior swimmer Grace Flemming likes to dig deep and push herself to the limit. That determination helped Flemming win the Daily Chronicle 2019 Girls Swimmer of the Year.

“It feels really great [to win this award],” Flemming said. “Every single day I came in here with the intention of trying my best and giving it my all, not only for myself but for my teammates and coaches. It makes me very proud of myself with all the hard work I put into it.”

Hard work and dedication was Flemming’s calling card over her high school swimming career.

“In all honesty, [my motivation] is to get better, really,” Flemming said. “I really enjoy this sport. I enjoy the hard sets and just feeling tired. It’s almost a sense of accomplishment that I was able to do this.”

Flemming’s coach, Melanie Chambers, didn’t have to push her hard to succeed because of the senior’s ability to stay on track.

“She keeps her focus and her mind on her goals,” Chambers said. “There’s not much I can do as a coach to motivate her that she isn’t already doing for herself. She’s an incredibly hard worker with motivation that’s out of this world.”

Flemming used her work ethic to be a leader for the team, not just the leader on the scoreboard.

“She was very good with our new swimmers, very helpful,” Chambers said. “There’s nothing I can say to help her be a better leader. It just comes naturally. She motivates others that are around. She’s always encouraging people, challenging people to do the best they can.”

The team relied on her to put up big points all year.

“She was great, especially in our nonconference meets,” Chambers said. “We could count on her placing first or second in all of her events. She always was a strong leg on the relay that helped out, finished our relays off strong.”

Despite competing in the deeper
DuPage Valley Conference this year, Flemming helped lead her relay team to place at the conference and sectional tournaments.

“This season at conference we placed in two relays, which was pretty cool,” Flemming said. “We also had a relay place at sectionals, which was a surprise. We didn’t think we’d be able to place in that one.”

With all of Flemming’s success, it will be the time with the team that she remembers most from the season.

“There are many moments where you just felt like giving up, but then you always had your teammates or coaches standing above you, not only encouraging you, but making you laugh,” Flemming said.