From here on out, on every Wednesday during the high school year, we'll be bringing you our Subway Scholar Athlete of the Week. The story will spotlight a local high school athlete, who not only excels on the playing field, but academically as well. Today, Action Sports Ross Field introduces us to a Pleasant Valley high swimmer who is quick in the pool and in the classroom!
Some people say swimming is 80% mental and 20% physical.
"If you're not in right state mentally you're not going to be able to swim as fast as your body can. I spend a lot of time doing it," said Gracie Hernandez.
Often four or even five hours a day, Pleasant Valley high senior Gracie Hernandez has made swimming her life, and that drive has led her to become one of the top swimmers in the Northern Section. In fact, she's the reigning section champ in the 200-meter and 500-meter freestyle.
"My friends get mad at me because I don't have time to spend with them as much as they would like and I just don't have much free time ever but it just seems like the right thing to do," said Hernandez.
Gracie's committment also extends to the classroom, where she ranks 2nd out of 446 students in the Viking senior class with a weighted 4.36 GPA.
She hopes that success and her swift swim strokes leads to a college scholarship.
"I'm in the process of figuring out where to go. I'm trying to find a good balance between a school where I can get a good education and somewhere I can swim and be competiitve with swimming at the NCAA level," said Hernandez.
Pleasant Valley high's Gracie Hernandez is this week's Subway Scholar Athlete of the Week.
At the end of the school year, we will decide which Scholar Athlete of the Week deserves to be the Scholar Athlete of the Year! Once we've decided, that one person, will be awarded a $5000 scholarship courtesy of Subway!
