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Woodlands Girls Reclaim Texas 6A High School State Title; Jada Scott Shines

2023 TEXAS HIGH SCHOOL SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS – 6A GIRLS

  • February 17-18, 2023
  • Lee & Joe Jamail Texas Swim Center, Austin, Texas
  • SCY (25 yards)
  • Live Results

Propelled by a relay victory and six different swimmers scoring 20 or more points The Woodlands High School girls reclaimed the Texas 6A (big schools) State Championship title on Feb. 18 in Austin.

Woodlands won the 6A title in 2021, but last year they were upended by Southlake Carroll by just 16 points. This year, Woodlands returned the favor, beating Southlake Carroll by the exact same margin, scoring 300 points to Southlake Carroll’s 284.

RELAY RECAP

The lone event win for Woodlands came in the 200 free relay, as the quartet of Sophia Cristal (24.12), Chloe Corbin (23.28), Mary Nordmann (22.84) and Zoe Nordmann (23.43) combined for a time of 1:33.67, nearing the State Record of 1:33.30 set by Johnson High School in 2021.

Depth was key for Woodlands in picking up the team victory, and a big part of that was also earning top-three finishes in the other two relays.

In the 200 medley, Southlake Carroll (1:42.47) earned a narrow win over Woodlands (1:42.52), with the victorious squad featuring Hailey Heldenbrand (25.82), Emma Bibza (29.63), Avery Hafele (24.72) and Marin Clem (22.30).

Woodlands notably had Evlin Riederer drop the field’s fastest breast split in 28.58, Mary Nordmann log a 24.62 fly leg, and freshman Brooke Miller, who wasn’t even on the winning 200 free relay, anchor in 23.11.

In the meet-ending 400 free relay, where Woodlands simply needed to avoid a DQ to secure the team title, Southlake Carroll powered to victory in a time of 3:23.80, with Heldenbrand (51.03), Alexis Drap (51.64), Kate Heintz (52.05) and Clem (49.08) getting the job done.

With a 49.83 anchor from senior Katie Walker, Mansfield placed second in 3:24.91, while Woodlands took third in 3:25.51, with a notable 50.99 anchor coming form Riederer.

INDIVIDUAL RECAP

The top individual performers were Johnson senior Jada Scott and Mansfield junior Elise Clift, who picked up two wins apiece.

Scott, an Alabama commit, neared the State Record in claiming the 50 free title in a time of 22.42, falling just shy of Katherine Zenick‘s mark of 22.30 set in 2020 while setting a new personal best time.

The 50 free ended up by an incredibly competitive race, with Cedar Park’s Trinity Hoang (22.66), defending champion Kayla Fu (22.79) and Southlake Carroll’s Marin Clem (22.93) also cracking 23 seconds. Last year, only Fu went sub-23 in the final.

Scott followed up by winning the 100 breast in another best time, clocking 1:00.59. This year marked a big schedule change for Scott, as she had raced the 200 IM and 100 free in her three previous championship appearances (winning the 100 free last year).

Although the team wasn’t competitive, Scott did produce a pair of scintillating relay splits for Johnson, clocking 23.93 on the fly leg of the 200 medley relay and 22.30 on the anchor leg of the 200 free relay.

After finishing in the runner-up position in both races last year, Clift picked up victories in the 200 free (1:47.44) and 500 free (4:46.20), and added a personal best time of 50.69 in the 100 free leading off Mansfield’s 400 free relay. She is committed to the University of Florida for the fall of 2024.

Clem, who finished seventh in the 100 free last season as a freshman, was more than three seconds faster this year to win the event in a PB of 49.07, with Clements’ Fu finishing in runner-up position for the second straight year in 49.62.

Round Rock’s Hannah O’Leary, a Texas A&M commit, used a blistering backstroke leg to win the 200 IM in 1:59.67, breaking the 2:00 barrier for the first time after finishing third last year.

Ronald Reagan sophomore Montserrat Spielmann (53.42) edged out Mansfield senior Katie Walker (53.51) for the win in the 100 fly, with Spielmann’s swim knocking a half-second off her previous best of 53.97.

Other winners on the day were Cedar Park senior Paula Warren, who reset her best time to top the 100 back field by nearly a full second in 54.59, and The Woodlands College Park’s Chloe Sharp in the 1-meter diving event (465.75).

FINAL TEAM SCORES – TOP 5

  1. The Woodlands, 300
  2. Southlake Carroll, 284
  3. Mansfield, 163
  4. Austin Westlake, 136
  5. Round Rock, 117

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Swimfan
1 year ago

Couldn’t be bothered to report on the girl’s Texas 6A state meet till TWO WEEKS later, while reporting on high schools across the country all along? You left out a few valuable points: In the 200 medley relay, Marin Clem came from nearly a body length behind, splitting 22.30 to snatch the win for Southlake Carroll. Clem also had the fastest 100fr relay split of 49.0 to secure the victory for Southlake Carroll.

About James Sutherland

James Sutherland

James swam five years at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario, specializing in the 200 free, back and IM. He finished up his collegiate swimming career in 2018, graduating with a bachelor's degree in economics. In 2019 he completed his graduate degree in sports journalism. Prior to going to Laurentian, James swam …

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