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Season Recap: Swimming

In what will go down as one of the best seasons in Tallulah Falls School swimming history, both the girls and boys excelled throughout the 2022-23 season, and coach Rachel Butler's program saw its hard work come to fruition at the GHSA State Championships. It marked just the second time the girls team had ever finished in the top-16, tying the program record with an 8th-place finish. The boys were in the top-16 for the third time, and their 12th-place finish was the best since 2019-20.

The Lady Indians, though fairly young, had a great blend of experienced veteran swimmers and up-and-coming talent in the pool. With several swimmers posting personal-bests throughout the season, it was no surprise to see a pair of individuals qualify for state and three different relay teams.

Sophomore Madison Dampier set numerous school records, beating her own prior marks on several ocassions. Twice she did so in the biggest meet at Georgia Tech in the GHSA State Championship. Dampier won the individual state title in the 100 Fly, posting a record with a 56.68 time. She became the first-ever TFS swimmer to claim a GHSA championship. She also finished runner-up in the 200 IM with a school-record 2:08.54.

Freshman Mattie Patterson had a tremendous season, qualifying for two events at state in the 100 Free and 200 IM. She came in 10th in the 100 Free at 58.51, and qualified for the finals in the 200 IM. The duo of Dampier and Patterson were part of the 200 Medley Relay (which finished 6th), and part of the 400 Free Relay (5th). Carsyn Griffis and Emma Jackson were also on the 200 Medley Relay team, and Griffis and Molly Rickman rounded out the 400 Free Relay. The 200 Free Relay team of Jackson, Griffis, Rickman, and Layne Kafsky also qualified for state and competed in the preliminaries.

The Lady Indians secured 128 points in the state meet, finishing 8th for a second straight season.

The Indians also featured a young team, though the few seniors on the team were invaluable. Seniors Nelson Wilkinson and Emery Sims competed at the state level indivdiually and on several relay teams.

Wilkinson finished 13th at state in the 50 Free with a 23.37, while Sims placed 17th in the 100 Back (1:00.22). The duo combined with Henry Rickman and Grayson Penland to place 8th in the 200 Medley Relay, 7th in the 400 Free Relay, and 10th in the 200 Free Relay. Rickman, a junior, and Penland, a sophomore, excelled for the boys and will now be the veteran leaders heading into next season.

The boys scored 100 points and came in 12th overall, which marked the best finish since 2019-20, and the third time ever coming in the top-16.

Tallulah Falls hosted several events at the TFS Natatorium, including the 3rd Annual Mask-Erade Invitational in October, the Hawaiian Luau Invitational in November, and the Shiver Me Timbers Invitational and 2023 1A Championship Invitational in January.

MS SWIM

The TFS Middle School swim teams also had much success throughout 2022-23, competing in several events. The evidence of how much the team improved came with each passing meet, where nearly every swimmer consistently shaved times off their personal bests.

The culmination of the 2022-23 season for the middle school group came with both teams coming in 2nd-place at the season-ending GIAA MS State Championships. Competing against 16 scoring teams, Tallulah Falls saw every single swimmer set at least one personal record time in their respective event.

Henry Dumas, Ida Patterson, Teagan Penland, Adelaide Tatum, and Veronica VerBerkmoes all came away with top-8 finishes individuallys. The boys 200 Medley Relay of Dumas, Penland, Thatcher Tatum, and Sam Belk were runner-up. Penland, Belk, and Dumas also teamed up with Brody Irvin for a runner-up finish in the 200 Free Relay.

For the girls, Tatum, Verberkmoes, Patterson, and Olivia Bonner were all part of two runner-up relays (200 Medley and 200 Free). The MS teams have just two boys moving up next year in Teagan Penland and Joshua Lander, while the girls will have Olivia Bonner, Olivia Henderson, Delaney Johnson, Emily Shoemaker, and Adelaide Tatum all move to the high school level.