LH graduate Ciez eyes school record at Cleveland State
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Laurel Highlands graduate Ella Ciez has made her mark during her first two seasons at Division I Cleveland State, but the junior has her sights set on a mark in her best event as the Vikings hit the midway point of their season at the Magnus Cup, which begins this morning at Busbey Natatorium in Cleveland.
The Vikings host the three-day meet, which helps in determining what swimmers will compete in the conference championships.
“In previous years at the Magnus Cup, we have had some of the bigger schools come up, which helped to provide more exposure for our school since it is a bigger meet,” Ciez said. “I am looking forward to the opportunity to post a solid time, especially with this being our midseason meet. It’s also neat that we are able to host something like this.”
Ciez has found the most success in the breaststroke. She has a personal best of 1:03.81 in the 100 breaststroke. Ciez set the mark this past February when she placed fourth in the event during the Horizon League Championships at the Indiana University Natatorium in Indianapolis, Ind.
Ciez’s time in the 100 breaststroke places her sixth on the all-time list at Cleveland State for the event. Alice Sommerville set the program record in 2012 with a time of 1:02.62.
“My main goal for this year is to get the 100 breaststroke record for our school,” Ciez said. “I am about a second away from the mark. I believe we will face some solid competition in the Magnus Cup, which should help to push more in the race.”
Ciez has the 10th best time in program history in the 200 breaststroke after swimming 2:21.43 in the preliminaries during the Horizon League Championships last winter. She finished seventh in the final with a time of 2:22.62.
Teammate Giovanna Cappabianca won the league championship and set the program’s top mark with a time of 2:15.19 in the final. The Vikings’ Kellsie Krisch has the fifth-best time in program history in the 200 breaststroke after she finished in 2:17.80 and placed third in the Horizon League.
Ciez was joined by Cappabianca, Audrey Butcher and Gracie Chelf to place second in the Horizon League with a time of 1:41.01 in the 200-medley relay. Ciez swam the breaststroke during her leg. The quartet has the third-best time in school history in the event.
The same team placed third in the 400-medley relay in 3:45.24 at the Horizon League Championships.
Ciez selected Cleveland State after a solid high school career that culminated in an eight-place showing in the 100 breaststroke as a senior in 2023. She was eighth in the same event in 2022.
Ciez was sixth in the 200 IM at the Class 2A PIAA Championships in 2022. She competed at the state meet in 2021 as a sophomore, and was expected to enter the pool in 2020 as a ninth grader at the PIAA Championships, but the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the Class 2A meet.
Despite her success in high school, Ciez learned early on that swimming in college is miles apart from high school.
“The first thing when it comes to the differences is the size of the team,” Ciez said. “My team wasn’t that big in high school, but we have 60 people on our team here. We had hard workers in high school, but everyone here is solely focused on putting in the work to accomplish their goals. We are all dedicated to swimming, and it goes beyond the pool. We have lifting three days a week, plus a strength and conditioning coach. It is so important to manage your time wisely because the training is so much more than high school, but you can’t forget about your studies.”
Although she has endured some good-natured ribbing from her Southwestern Pennsylvania family and friends, Ciez enjoys the campus that is minutes from downtown Cleveland, which is essential for her major.
“I am majoring in communications with a minor in sales and sports management right now,” Ciez said. “I am really big in the sports management club here and we had a career fair where people from the Browns, Cavaliers and Guardians made appearances. There are a lot more opportunities being in a campus that is so close to downtown.”