North Carolina State University Athletics
PEELER: Henley Has Found Cozy Home With Pack
2/10/2010 12:00:00 AM | Swimming
BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH, N.C. – Marifrances Henley was ready to find a place to succeed.
And, so far, the freshman swimmer from Memphis has found a cozy place here at NC State and the Wolfpack's home, the Willis Casey Natatorium.
It wasn't so much that Henley was eager to leave her parents and six siblings, though she admits the freedom of college has been nice after growing up in a chaotic household. She just needed a new challenge after going through a difficult transition in her final year of high school, after her club team got a new coach.
"She was looking for something different and she fit in here," said NC State swimming coach Brooks Teal.
Henley likes the direction she has been getting from Teal and women's associate coach Jacqui McLaughlin. She likes the different emphasis they place on weight training and other workouts that help her refine her well-developed swimming skills.
"I was just really sick of club swimming and really looking forward to college," Henley said. "I felt like I was well prepared for it. I was just ready to come out and compete.
"After going through the coaching transition at my club, I kind of learned just to go out and swim fast, not matter if you are in season or in taper or whatever. That has carried over to this year."
Henley, one of several talented newcomers in the program, has been a versatile performer for the Wolfpack women, who head to the ACC Championships next week in Chapel Hill. Competition there begins next Wednesday and goes through Saturday.
So far this season, Henley has the team's best time in the 200-yard freestyle (1:50.78) and the 500-yard freestyle (4:54.41) and the second best time in the 100-yard freestyle (51.51 seconds) and 1,000-yard freestyle (10:12.31).
"I am really happy with the way I have been swimming," Henley said.
She enjoys relays even more than individual races, so she's looking to contribute in the 200-, 400- and 800-yard freestyle relays as well.
"She has this competitive fire," said Teal. "She's obviously talented, but she has a will to win that takes over when she is in the water. She's pretty quiet and doesn't seem to be real fiery out of the water, but once she is in, she is quite a competitor.
"She has won a lot of her races on sheer willpower."
Henley says it took a lot of trial and error to find the proper outlet for her competitive spirit. As a kid, she tried all kinds of sports and found out she wasn't very athletic.
"I tried baseball, and the best I ever did was hit a foul ball," she said. "I tried soccer, and they always kind of stuck me somewhere where I wouldn't be in the way. I hated running."
She was also terrified of the water as a kid. But her mom, Annabel Henley, enrolled her in swimming classes at the age of six and she began competitive swimming a year later.
It turned out to be the perfect outlet for her. She excelled at White Station High School, where she was a three-time team MVP, and with her club team. She looked at several schools before settling on NC State, primarily because she liked the environment, the coaches and her future teammates. It didn't hurt that family friend Dan Forsythe was already a member of the Wolfpack men's program.
After performing well in dual meets, Henley is hoping to continue her success this weekend at the ACC Championships.
"My goal is to make the finals in all my events," said Henley, who will likely compete in three individual events and three relays. "But I would also like to make the top eight in more than one event. I think that would be a good start."
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
