By Thomas Smith
Junior, Sophie Fox is one of the best athletes that Ponte Vedra High School has seen. Sophie has been a member of the PVHS Women’s Swim and Dive team for three years, each year making it all the way to the state championship meet. Recently, she has decided to continue her academic and athletic career at the University of South Carolina in the fall of 2026.
Since a young age, Sophie loved being by the water. In 2013, she joined Planet Swim, a local club team. It was at this team when she got her first state, regional, and national cuts. Last year, Sophie had a chance to get her Winter Junior National cut in the 200 yard butterfly, arguably the hardest event, as a swimmer. She had an amazing swim, but unfortunately missed the time standard by 0.01 seconds. Swimming is a very technical sport where 1/100th can be the difference between going to your dream college or not. That did not stop her, motivating her to practice and train harder than ever. Later in the season she qualified for the winter national meet. She missed the Summer Junior Nationals qualifying time which would make her eligible for a meet of the best swimmers in the country. Again, she missed the time standard by 0.01 seconds in the event. The next day in a time trial she gave it another shot and got the cut, making her a valuable asset for a college team.
“Nothing compares to the experiences of team travel and the hype of state finals.”
Sophie fox (12)
When Sophie is not busy swimming or keeping up with her school work, she is with her horse, Gracie. For her whole life she has loved the presence of animals. She has a horse, two dogs, a cat, and is part of an animal fostering group. The Fox family has a constant rotation of foster kittens, up to six kittens at a time.
Sophie always has something on her plate, whether it is going to swim practice, taking care of her pets, or keeping up with her school work. She has always had a heavy course load and always found a way to balance multiple rigorous classes.
Sophie said, “I love hanging out with my swim family, Ponte Vedra High Swim is the highlight of my school year.” She continued, “Nothing compares to the experiences of team travel and the hype of state finals.”
Leaving these memories behind will be tough, but she looks forward to making new memories on the bright path ahead of her.
Pictured: Sophie Fox in her commitment picture
