Centennial High School Swimmers Make Big Splash at State Meet

ROSWELL, GA -- The 17-student squad of swimmers and divers from Centennial High School put on a show during the 6A-7A division competition at the GHSA Swimming & Diving State Championships.

Held Feb. 2-4 at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center, the event resulted in strong performances from members of the girls as well as the boys' teams.

The Lady Knights have used a balanced attack all season, but on Saturday, the offense was bolstered by some outstanding individual swims to end in second place overall in the division, the highest finish since 2010.

On the last swim of the day, the 400 Freestyle Relay team out-touched Dunwoody by 0.19 seconds to pass both Dunwoody and Johns Creek, landing them at sixth overall at the state meet.

Some notable performances:

Elly Deas - Elly's 100 Backstroke swim was the highest finish of the day for the Knights. She finished second overall, which was the first podium appearance for a Lady Knight since 2010. Her time was fast enough to put her into All-American consideration and she broke her own school record. She also finished ninth in the 100 Butterfly.

Brianna Bender - Brianna's re-emergence this year as one of the top swimmers in the state, is a big reason for the Knight's success. She finished 10th in the 200 IM and eighth in the 500 Freestyle.

Katharine Ward - Katharine shot up the leaderboard on Saturday at Finals. She won the B Finals in both the 200 IM and the 100 Breaststroke to finish 11th in the state in both events. As a freshman, it looks like the Lady Knights and Coach Dale have a few more years of success to enjoy.

200 Medley Relay - Elly Deas, Katharine Ward, Brianna Bender and Emma Doherty missed setting the eight-year school record by one second. All four of the girls will return next year.

200 Freestyle Relay - The relay team of Lyndsey Bender, Tessa Sergile, Katharine Ward and Emma Doherty exceeded their pre-meet goal, coming in first in the B finals and finishing 11th overall.

400 Freestyle Relay - Just before the meet, Coach Dale added Tessa Sergile to the 400 Free Relay team, and it paid off. After senior leader Lyndsey Bender kept the Knights close, Tessa passed Dunwoody on the second leg of the relay. Brianna Bender and Elly Deas held them off just long enough to finish 6th in the relay and clinched a sixth place finish in the state.

Not to be outdone, the Centennial boys also performed well in the competition.

With the graduation losses of now college swimmers Hunter Doster and Sage Ono, the boys started the year looking to find who would fill those shoes. At the GHSA State Meet, the 400 Relay Team surprised everyone and the skills of junior Noland Deas remained consistently impressive.

Noland Deas - With college coaches in attendance, Noland showed his balance by finishing fifth in both the 200 Freestyle and the 500 Freestyle. Deas has shown talent and leadership all season, and his senior season will be one to watch.

400 Freestyle Relay – With the odds against them, Joe Peak, Ben Hudson, Jack Christie and Noland Deas showed heart, finishing with an impressive 18th in the state.

"I couldn't be more proud of this team and their performance,” said Coach Dale. “It is an honor to be called ‘Coach’ for such a talented group of young athletes."

Photo 1: Elly Deas finishes 2nd overall—the first podium appearance for a Lady Knight since 2010. Her time was fast enough to put her into All-American Consideration and she broke her own school record. (Left to Right): Jami Williams (Walton - Bronze), Sarah Sorensen (Pope - Gold), and Elly Deas (Centennial – Silver).

Photo 2: The Centennial High School Swim and Dive Team after the GHSA State Meet at Georgia Tech. Front Row L-R Kate Christie, Emma Doherty, Katharine Ward. Lyndsey Bender, Alexis Bender, Emsley Brems (Team Manager) Back Row L-R Joe Peak, Ben Hudson, Jack Christie, Noland Deas, Elly Deas, Brianna Bender, Derek Rehberger (alternate), Tessa Sergile. [Not pictured: Max Cole, Mason Gay, Trevor Dios, Bryan Teffeteller, Camden Bowers, Anna Teffeteller (alternate) Gillie Barber (alternate), Kaylin Berinhout (alternate), and Thomas Watts (alternate)].

Photo 3: The Lady Knights Free Relay team finished 11th overall in the state of Georgia. (Left to Right): Emma Doherty, Tessa Sergile, Katharine Ward, and Lyndsey Bender.

Credits: Centennial High School