Chamblee High School has a wide range of athletics that students can participate in, including Chamblee’s swim team coached by Gregory Valley and Lorri Reynolds. At the end of the season, athletes and coaches have the opportunity to review and reflect on how the team performed. According to Coach Valley, the team has had a strong season, despite the team being smaller than last year.
“Our boys are currently undefeated 5-0 with wins over Tucker, Greater Atlanta Christian School, Dunwoody, Lakeside, and Marist,” said Valley.
Last year’s Bullsharks had an incredibly successful season, which set the bar high for this year’s athletes. Both the boy’s and girl’s teams won at the Dekalb County Championship. At the State meet, the girls finished 4th and the boys were the State Runner-Up. 25 swimmers and divers qualified individually for the State meet as well.
Swimmers, like Mallory Williams (‘26), have worked hard in practice to improve as much as possible.
“I have definitely done better the last two years, but that doesn’t stop me from trying to improve,” said Williams.
In practice, swimmers work on technique, endurance, and speed, while divers work on agility and technique.
“Some practices are a lot harder than others, but overall I would say that I do enjoy going to practice for the most part,” said Williams.
Swimmers enjoy being a part of the team for a variety of reasons; returning athlete, Merridy White (‘27), specifically enjoys the community the team has built.
“I’ve always loved swimming,” said White. “A bunch of my friends introduced me to the high school team last year, and it’s just a good community with lots of fun people.”
If anyone has been interested in joining the swim team, the swimmers definitely recommend it.
“There are very few requirements for capability and speed, yet it provides a team atmosphere and a fun time,” said Williams.
Due to pool heating issues, the last meet of the season against St. Pius was rescheduled from January 14th to the 23rd.
“I’m super excited for [the last meet] because it’s Senior Night,” said Gwyn Harrison (‘27).
The seniors are also excited for Senior Night, but they also have a lot of emotions as they leave Chamblee. After they graduate, the current juniors will have to step up and fill the leading role of the seniors.
“This year, there’s a lot of newbies,” said Nathan Cutler (‘25) “[so] we’re trying to teach them ropes.”
After the meet on the 23rd, a few athletes will participate in the Dekalb County Championship on January 24th and 25th and the State Championship on February 7th and 8th. This has been a successful season for the Bullsharks, and it is exciting to see how they will do moving forward.
