UWEC Athletics Hall of Fame
A five-time individual conference champ and five-time First Team NAIA All-American in individual events, Tanya Nord was a two-time team co-MVP, two-time team Hardest Worker recipient and a team Most Improved winner as a member of four conference championship teams and four teams that placed second, third, fourth and fifth in the nationals. She was one of 16 Blugolds who were named to the WIAC’s All-Centennial swimming and diving team in 2012. Nord won five freestyle gold medals in the WWIAC: two at 200 yards, two at 500 yards and one at 1650 yards. In addition, she earned titles as a member of four relay teams. She contributed 186 points to the four straight WWIAC titles and 132 points in national competition. Her best finishes in the NAIA meet were a third in the 1650 freestyle (1991) and sixths in the 500 freestyle (1991), 200 freestyle (1992) and 1650 freestyle (1992). At the 1992 NAIA Nationals, she tied the school record in the 100 freestyle, swimming the leadoff leg of the 400 freestyle relay which set a new school record.
After her eligibility was completed, the Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota native and Simley High School prep standout helped Hall of Fame coach Tom Prior as a student coach while she finished her elementary education degree with a coaching minor. Her professional career has involved contributions to the sport in which she excelled as a competitor. While serving as a substitute teacher in the Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls school districts from 1994-96, she was the Chi-Hi girls and boys head swim coach. From 1996-99, she served as the Aquatics Director of the Eau Claire YMCA while serving as a head age group swim coach. She continued to compete as a member of the YMCA Masters Swim Club. Nord returned to the Gopher state in 1999 and served as a middle school physical education swim instructor in the Anoka-Hennepin School District while also serving as the Anoka High School boys head swim coach from 1999-02. At the time of her induction, she was a substitute teacher in the Inver Grove Heights school district. She has been active as an event coordinator for various activities at the elementary and middle schools where her children attended. She also became involved in the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts and as a Sunday School instructor and Vacation Bible School instructor. At the time of her induction, she was serving as head coach of the Simley High School girls swimming and diving team. Throughout her career, she has served as a swimming and diving official. She was a swimming official for the WIAA while in Wisconsin (1992-97) and became a swim official for the Minnesota State High School League in 2003. In 2015, she had the honor of serving as starter for the Class AA Minnesota State High School Girls State Meet. At the time of her induction, she and her husband Jon were parents of two children.
