F
reshman swimmer Zoe
Skirboll already has made
a name for herself as
a record-setter on the
national scene. She’s ranked as the
fastest girl in the country in her age
group in the 100 breaststroke, and
the third fastest in that race in USA
Swimming history. Nobody has beaten
the national records she set when she
was 10 years old in the 50 free and
100 free, and she also holds the 50
breaststroke long- and short-course
records for the 11-12 age group.
Now, the bubbly student-athlete is
applying her success to high school
sports where, as a member of the Fox
Chapel Area High School Swim Team,
she now competes against girls as
much as four years older than her. That
hasn’t seemed to break her stride. Most
recently, Zoe placed first in the 100 breaststroke at the WPIAL
championships February 28 and March 1, and set a WPIAL
record in the process, with a time of 1:00.96. Prior to PIAAs,
she was ranked as the fastest swimmer in the state in that
event. The state championships were held March 15 and 16 at
Bucknell University.
In her maiden year with the group, Zoe broke four school
records (50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 200 individual medley
[IM], and 100 breaststroke), qualified for the WPIAL Class
AAA championships in eight events, and, while she personally
doesn’t like to think too far ahead, was a strong favorite to win
gold at PIAAs.
The High School Experience
“I love being part of a team where
every race matters, every point
counts, and the outcome can
come down to the last point,” she
says.
The support of her teammates
means the world to her, and it’s
not hard to see why, as she recalls
the scenario when she broke her
first school record.
“When I hit the pool wall (when
she broke the 200 IM time), my
teammates were right there and
all along the sidelines screaming,
‘You broke the record! You broke
the record!’” says the driven
swimmer. “They were happy and
excited for me, and it was such a
great feeling.”
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FOX CHAPEL AREA
She explains her decision of which races she wanted to enter
at WPIALs: “My best time is in the 100 breast, and I wanted
to see what I could do in the 200 IM. We thought these events
would give me the best shot for the possibility of getting to
states.”
Considering how Zoe is such a natural in the water, it’s hard to
believe that when she was younger, she disliked swimming. “I
did not like it for about the first three years. My parents were
OK with that, but then I didn’t really have anything else to
do, so I just kept going. But I’ve really fallen in love with the
sport.”
And, even though she practices six days a week and about 340
days a year, she says, “It never gets old, especially when I’m
around my friends, because the
routine is different every day.”
Recent WPIAL Accolades
At the WPIAL Class AAA
Championships February 28 and
March 1, in addition to placing
first in the 100 breaststroke, she
came in second in the 200 IM,
and she and the first-place finisher
both broke the WPIAL record.
Zoe qualified for states in both
events, as well as in the 200 IM
relay and the 400 freestyle relay
with her teammates in those
events, juniors Grace Gackenbach
and Leia Ross, and sophomore
Vivian Shao.
(At press time, the 2019 PIAA
Swimming and Diving Championships
had not yet been held.)