Henry, from nearby Garner, N.C., used a strong back half to win the first NCAA Championship of her illustrious Texas A&M career that included three previous top six finishes in the 400 IM and a whopping 15 All-America honors in the 400 IM, 500 free, 1,650 free and with the 800 free relay. Henry touched the wall in a lifetime best time of 4:02.47, which was just off the school record of 4:01.56 set by Cammile Adams in 2012.
“It means everything to me,” Henry said. “My sophomore year I tore my ACL so I didn't even know if I could swim breaststroke after that and to win a 400 IM title is amazing. Doing it here, in front of so many friends and family, is just the cherry on top. I've had a fantastic experience at A&M and to get the title for them and myself, I wouldn't have it any other way.”
At the halfway point of the race, Henry found herself in fifth place and trailing the leader by over two seconds. She moved within striking distance with the fastest breaststroke leg of the race in the third 100 yards, but still trailed Louisville's Tanya Kylliainen and Georgia's Amber McDermott, who won the 400 IM at the 2015 SEC Championships. Henry would not be denied as she covered the final 100 yards in 55.42 to hold off a charging Hali Flickinger of Georgia, who finished second in 4:02.73.
With Henry's win, the Aggies have now won at least one NCAA title in each of the last four years. It was the 10th NCAA individual title of the Steve Bultman era, with all 10 coming in the past six years.
In other Texas A&M action, the Aggies closed out the night with a huge effort in the 800 free relay with the foursome of sophomore Sarah Gibson, junior Meredith Oliver, senior Lili Ibanez and Henry finishing fourth in 7:00.94, which makes them the fifth-fastest relay in school history.
A pair of freshmen earned honorable mention All-America honors. Bethany Galat placed second in the consolation final (10th overall) of the 100 breaststroke in a lifetime best time of 59.44, and Lisa Bratton was 15th in the 400 IM with a time of 4:09.01. Galat lowered her lifetime best twice on Friday and now ranks No. 4 in school history in the 100 breaststroke.
The Aggies took third in the consolation heat of the 200 medley relay (11th overall) with the foursome of freshman Laura Norman, Galat, freshman Béryl Gastaldello and senior Sammie Bosma touching in a time of 1:36.85.
After two days of action, the Aggies are fifth in the team standings with 153.5 points, trailing Cal (383.5), Georgia (299.5), Stanford (264) and Virginia (168).