CEMENTING HER LEGACY
Zoe Nordmann cemented her family’s legacy at The Woodlands after helping the Highlanders win back-to-back Class 6A state titles in her senior season.
Her older sisters Lucie, Lillie and Mary each won two state titles and are on the leaderboards for the swimming program.
“I look up to my sisters so much and love them,” said Nordmann, who was named All-Greater Houston Girls Swimmer of the Year for the second straight season. “Being able to leave The Woodlands with another state title I think is what any of us would have wanted, and I’m excited that I got to do that with my teammates.”
Nordmann, a part of the Highlanders’ 400-yard freestyle relay team of Caroline Frazier, Lily Wiles and Elvin Riederer, helped The Woodlands win its 12th state title.
“One of our main goals coming into this year was to win state again,” said Nordmann, a Northwestern signee. “It just means everything honestly. We knew we could make it happen and we just had to perform when the time came.”
Nordmann took home the gold in the 500 free with a time of 4 minutes, 45.02 seconds, improving her time from her junior season (4:50.78) when she took silver.
She took home the bronze in the 200 free this season after missing the podium a year ago.
“I was really happy with myself in the 200,” Nordmann said. “I tried really hard, and I really wanted to break 1:48 in the 200. In the 500 I wanted to medal because I came so close last year and just really wanted to break our school record.”
“We have a really good support system at The Woodlands,” Nordmann said. “I couldn’t have done any of this by myself. I have had great teammates my entire career at The Woodlands and those are the memories that I’m going to cherish forever. The state titles are great but the memories I made with my teammates are going to last me a lifetime.”
The grind of a swim season can be challenging.
For Nordmann, wanting to repeat for a state title with her teammates was easier said than done.
“Years and years after practice you develop a strong mindset mentally,” Nordmann said. “You have your good days and your bad days, but you just have to stay focused on the end goal, which was winning a state title. Everything we did during the season was worth it because we won state at the end of the season.”