TFS Swimming

TALLULAH FALLS SCHOOL SWIMMING

As the famous line from ‘Field of Dreams’ goes, ‘If you build it, they will come.’ The Natatorium at TFS is the ‘it’ and the ‘they’ translates to records, both at the personal and school level. In the first year of the state-of-the-art TFS Natatorium, swimmers throughout the program achieved incredible success at the middle and high school level. They were coached by former TFS and Mars Hill standout swimmer, Rachel Nichols.

VARSITY

Let there be no doubt of the impact of newcomers Madison and Montgomery Dampier, as well as Emre Sungur. The swim teams were already stout, but that trio elevated the intensity within the program.

‘Exhibit A’ is the school record book. Madison Dampier set four individual records this season (200 IM, 100 Fly, 100 Free, 100 Backstroke) as well as being a part of the record-setting 200 Medley Relay team. Montgomery set the school mark in the 200 Free (at the State Championships), 500 Free, and 100 Breaststroke, and also was on the 200 Medley Relay team.

Meanwhile, Sungur set three school records, including the 200 Free, 200 IM, and 500 Free. The varsity teams consistently finished at or near the top in all of their events throughout the season, which culminated in a historical finish at the GHSA State Championships (Class 1A-3A). The Indians finished 15th overall, while the Lady Indians came in 8th.

Madison Dampier broke her own school records in the 200 IM and 100 Fly at the State Championships, finishing 4th overall at state in those events. She and sister Montgomery were 6th in the 400 Free Relay and 10th in the 200 Medley Relay. Montgomery posted a state runner-up finish in the 500 Free, and was 4th in the 200 Free (where she set a new school record). Meanwhile, Sungur was 3rd in the 500 Free (school record time) and 4th in the 200 IM (school record). Nelson Wilkinson, a longtime standout at TFS in swimming, competed in two individual events at state and was part of a pair of relay teams with Sungur that came in 12th and 14th in the 400 Free and 200 Medley, respectively.

Others who advanced to state included Henry Rickman, Emery Sims, Jason Dong, and William Xu for the boys in relay events. For the girls, relay team members Tamia Moss, Emily Wolfe, Karis Tatum, and Daya Ssemakula all contributed as well.

MIDDLE SCHOOL

The middle school program also succeeded in 2021-22. The teams finished their regular season at home in the ‘Ahoy Me Hearties’ Invitational, and the boys and girls were pushed to be their best. In that meet, swimmers had an opportunity to go varsity distances and stretch themselves.

The boys finished second overall at the meet, while the girls took the top spot. Those who earned top-three finishes individually included Olivia Henderson, Keira Webb, Charlie Harris, Carsyn Griffis, Molly Rickman, Adelaide Tatum, Frankie Pribyl, and Harry Goldfine. Nearly every meet throughout the season, multiple swimmers recorded personal best times.

In the GISA Middle School State Championships at Georgia Tech, the girls finished as the state runner-up, while the boys came in 13th. Griffis, Pribyl, Rickman, and Tatum all posted top-10 finishes, as well as multiple relay groups. Overall, eight boys and 13 girls competed at the State Championships. Several of them had personal records in the meet.