For the first time in program history, the swim team travelled out of state, competing at the McCallie Invitational in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The meet not only gave swimmers valuable exposure, but also marked a significant step forward in the growth of the swim program.
Head coach Emily Dohogne said she hopes the experience will help shape the team’s culture.
“It raised the bar for us,” Dohogne said of the Nov. 22 competition. “I think part of the reason that public school sports, in general, are less competitive is due to limited access [to higher competition]. So, when coaches advocate for their team and push for these more competitive events, it pushes the team to be better, and puts us on the map as a top competitive team.”
The McCallie Invitational is a highly-competitive meet, drawing schools from four different states. The Knights brought eight girls and seven boys to compete, with the girls team placing sixth overall, and the boys finishing 12th.
“With that level of competition, and really with teams from that many places, it was kind of inevitable that it was going to be really intense,” junior co-captain Rhea El-Deiry said. “We have top swimmers, but so did everyone else there, so it definitely pushed us.”
At the event, the team delivered a historic performance, rewriting multiple records. Freshman Avery Wells and juniors Sarah Paisley Owen, Dabney Bond and El-Deiry broke the Midtown 200 medley relay record, finishing with a time of 1.47.70.
Owen continued this streak, topping her own school record in the 200 freestyle race, with a time of 1.47.52 — securing automatic All-American recognition — an honor that places her among the nation’s elite high school swimmers. Sophomore Ben Lisbon also made a mark for the boys’ team, setting a new 100 breaststroke record after finishing in 1:00.14.
Coach George Kimbrough credited the team’s strong performance to the hard work they have put in over the year.
“We had the kids practice really hard going into it, ”Kimbrough said. “Competition-wise, it was even more intense than what they normally see, but their hard work paid off, and they obviously did really well.”
Despite limited roster depth, Lisbon said the team performed well.
“I think our confidence went up a lot because of this meet due to the sheer number of really fast times we got and teams that we competed against,” Lisbon said.
Lisbon emphasized that this meet not only contributed to the team’s physical development, but also strengthened its sense of camaraderie.
“I feel like competing at this meet allowed us to grow closer as a team,” Lisbon said. “Unlike other meets, this was a travel meet, so we stayed together even when we weren’t swimming.”
Although swimming is often considered an individual sport, El-Deiry highlighted the necessity of this chemistry. She emphasized that supporting teammates is essential to the team’s overall success.
“Being surrounded by an atmosphere of people that are all supporting one another is so important,” El-Deiry said. “This meet really kind of emphasized team bonding, and brought us closer together, which will definitely pay off in the long run.”
Last year, the boys team finished 14th and the girls placed fifth at the Region 4-AAAA state championship. El-Deiry said the Knights’ primary focus is on performing well at state, with the recent meet serving as an important step toward that goal.
“The swimmers who travelled to Chattanooga were mainly those with state-qualifying times,” El-Deiry said. “This meet had a lot of competition that will hopefully help in preparing us for that, which is very important that we do well in.”
The state final is on Feb. 3, giving the team more than a month to prepare. Kimbrough said the coaching staff is using the McCallie results as a guide to identify areas the team needs to improve leading up to state.
“Every meet is like a new data point that we can use to put together the best lineup possible for state,” Kimbrough said. “A lot of times at regular dual meets or just local meets, the kids won’t go quite as hard, so it was great that it was such a competitive meet. All the kids were so locked in that we know the data points that we got are really accurate for state and will help us tremendously in preparing for state.”
Dohogne said the team hopes to continue to have opportunities like this in future seasons.
“It really was a great experience and definitely a learning and growing experience for us,” Dohogne said. “We hope to go back next year and continue to earn bids like this in future seasons that will just overall help with the growth of our swim program.”
