You may know Eliza Lennox (12) for her swim achievements. Team co-captain for the Girls’ Swim team. Ranked eighth in the state. Reigning champion of two individual events.
But for Lennox, swimming is worth more than the highlights. It’s about the team. The family she’s made along the way.
“For me to win means to be the best, but a win is also being with my girls and being with my team,” Lennox said.
Both extremely competitive and a hard worker, Lennox keeps the team motivated. She considers the pool her home away from home, with her team as her second family, always ready to cheer her on.
“Swimming is a team sport, but it’s also very individual, and if you don’t have a good support system, good coaches, and a good team that you love, it’s a no-can-do,” Lennox said. “Having my girls and my coaches who will bend over backward for me is the best part.”
Having watched her team grow these past four years and seeing how far they have come, she couldn’t be prouder. As captain this year, Lennox has had many opportunities to lead and learn with the girls. It’s what she will miss the most.
“This year has been tough as a team captain,” Lennox said. “Just watching everybody get so good, grow into themselves, grow into the sport, and fall in love with it in their way, having to leave that is gonna be hard.”
But in the midst of her senior season, on Jan. 14, disaster struck.
Nothing out of the ordinary was going on when Lennox tore her Achilles tendon. It was a traditional practice, a warm-up in the pool with fins. When one of Lennox’s fell off, she continued to kick.
“Instead of stopping, I kept kicking with my right fin only. It was way too much for my tendon,” Lennox said. “I pulled it and my foot cramped. It was horrible.”
Against the odds, Lennox competed in the 2025 CHSAA Girls Swimming State Championships after taking only three weeks to recover.
“It was important to take it slow daily and understand that it’s okay. It’s okay to get hurt, and it’s just your body telling you that you need to take a break,” Lennox said. “Just listening and healing and trying to get back in as quickly, but as smartly, as possible.”
And that is exactly what she did. After giving herself the time she needed to heal, she went right back to swimming, competing in just one meet before she headed to State.
“The day before finals, I took an ice bath and strained my legs and let all the blood rush out, and then refilled them and I used a massage gun. That, 12 hours of sleep, and lots of Gatorade. That’s my strategy,” Lennox said. “The nerves were high, but I just tried to live in the moment and be with my team. I mean, you train for 12 weeks in preparation for this. Whatever happens, happens.”
Hard work, careful injury remediation, and dedication paid off: Lennox left the State meet holding three first-place medals.
“I felt on cloud nine. I’ve worked so hard for all four years and dedicated myself to this sport and to see those kinds of results, it’s such a unique feeling,” Lennox said. “Putting in the work and seeing the output is more than I could ask for. I would say work hard, play later.”
