The best in Texas
The Woodlands and Magnolia girls teams capture state titles.
AUSTIN — It all came down to one race.
The Woodlands vs. Austin Westlake. All the chips were on the table with one event to decide who would bring home the UIL Class 6A girls swimming championship at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swim Center.
Each team entered the 400-yard freestyle relay with 225 points, but it was the Lady Highlanders who prevailed, taking the gold medal with a state-record time of 3:21.06. It was more than two seconds faster than the previous mark, ironically set by the Lady Chaparrals in 2008.
The winning quartet consisted of Lucie Nordmann, Emily Reese, Payton Neffand Lillian Nordmann. The Woodlands came away with 265 points, followed by Westlake (259) and Southlake Carroll (196).
The Woodlands came away with a runner-up finish last February behind Westlake. But this time around, the Lady Highlanders were the ones standing at the top of the podium with their seventh state championship trophy.
“They thought about that all year — getting runner-up last year,” The Woodlands coach Kent Kirchner said. “That was the only thing on these girls’ minds from the time we left last year to coming back this year and winning it all.
“That was their motivating factor here today, and they did an awesome job.” Nordmann leads way
Nordmann led the charge for The Woodlands, collecting four gold medals — two individually and two as part of the Lady Highlanders’ relay teams.
The junior won her first individual gold of the day in the 50-yard freestyle, touching the wall at 22.69 seconds. She also won the state title in the same event last year and set the 6A record at 22.68 seconds in the preliminaries Friday.
Nordmann reached the top of the podium once again by winning her third straight gold medal in the 100-yard backstroke later in the meet. She finished the race in 52.48 seconds to set a new state record.
Southlake Carroll captured the 6A boys state title, and The Woodlands’ thirdplace finish was the best from the Houston area.
Also Saturday, Magnolia secured its first athletic state championship since its softball team captured a title in 1999.
The Lady Bulldogs, led by a pair of talented seniors, scored a total of 244 points, beat out San Antonio Ala-mo-Heights (162) and Frisco (147) for the Class 5A swimming crown.
“It’s fantastic,” Magnolia coach David Partenheimer said. “This is the second (state title) in school history, and it’s the first swimming title ever. It’s amazing.”
Seniors Joy Field and Caitlin Clements each took home a pair of individual medals and were instrumental in leading the Lady Bulldogs’ relay teams as well.
Highland Park won the Class 5A boys title with 175 points. Tomball Memorial had the best showing from the Houston area, taking third place with 153.5 points.
Stratford junior Timothy Bobo had an impressive showing at the 6A championships, capturing gold medals in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle events at 19.95 seconds and 43.56 seconds, respectively. Hoherz, Fleming second
In the diving competitions, Oak Ridge senior Anton Hoherz ended his high school career by capturing a second consecutive silver medal in the 1-meter event. He finished with a score of 465.40 in the Class 6Ameet.
Willis diver Michaela Fleming made it to the podium in the 1-meter event after missing a medal by one spot last year. She earned the silver in Class 5A this time around, cashing in with a score of 389.85.