Cece Gerard isn’t a typical Westside athlete. The senior is a third generation Westside swimmer and is even ranked second in the state in the 100-yard butterfly. Gerard has also had quite a unique experience in her swimming career shining in what’s not her main event.
Gerard is practically a newborn to the world of butterfly swimming, with little competition experience in that event. Her favorite stroke is the freestyle, but she’s ranked higher in the butterfly. Gerard’s best 100 butterfly time is 57.45.3, which she swam in the Lisa Ellis Warrior Invite and took home gold in that event. Gerard believes being ranked among the top butterfly swimmers is a strange feeling, but also very exciting.
“It’s crazy because I’ve never been number two in the state or really ranked in the state,” Gerard said. “It’s really fun to experience that and it makes it even more exciting as we get into championship season to see how things play out. It’s kind of a strange feeling but it’s a good one.”
Gerard comes from a long line of Westside swimmers including her mom, who was a two-time state champion. Melissa Eberhart Gerard won the gold medal in the 100-yard freestyle in 1988 in a time of 54.13. Melissa also won the gold medal in the 1989 200-yard individual medley in a time of 2:11.76. Her dad ran cross country at Westside as well.
“They have some expertise,” Gerard said. “So they’re able to help me with my breathing and kind of are able to work through some things with me. Get the resources I need and they know the commitment level, so they’re able to work around things with me. I think it makes doing high school sports easier knowing that they went through the same stuff.”
It wasn’t all rainbows for Gerard, as she’s battled asthma all through her career of high school sports. Her asthma was part of the reason she stopped running cross country before her senior year. Gerard also has a vocal cord dysfunction, which is the opposite of asthma, preventing air from getting air into the lungs.
“It’s definitely played a role, kind of more what I’ve been swimming rather than how I swim,” Gerard said. “It’s been a lot of managing and a lot of trial and error, which has been frustrating at times. I’ve kinda become more of a sprint swimmer, the 100’s and 50’s, which have worked out really well, rather than the 500’s, which I was having a lot of issues with breathing. It took support from coaches, which we have so much of.”
College is on the forefront of Gerard’s mind as she prepares for graduation. Swimming in college isn’t a necessity to Gerard but is definitely something that factors into her decision. There are two colleges that she is interested in as of now.
“I think I’m kind of going between Butler and Creighton,” Gerard said. “Creighton has the Global Scholars program that I’m really interested in and my dad works there. Butler I would be on a tuition exchange scholarship which would be really cool and I might swim there.”
Gerard and the Warriors will continue their season at the Metro Championships on Friday, Feb. 9.
