NC senior swim star, Dane Charleston placed first in the men’s 200 yard individual medley at Georgia Highschool Association’s State Swimming and Diving Championship on February 6th, 2021. After 13 long  years of hard work and dedication to swimming, Charleston went home with the title of state champion.

“I started swimming when I was 5, and I started at a summer team: Parkwood Commons Piranhas. I’m 18 now so I’ve been swimming for 13 years total,” Charleston said.

His team projected his win at the race based on his previous times. He shaved down his time since last year’s championship by one second and seventeen milliseconds. This year the talented athlete came in first with an impressive time of one minute and fifty one seconds. Charleston credits his win and ability to keep improving to his intense practice regiment. 

“Every practice is impossible, 10 [practices] a week, and mental toughness goes a long way,” Charleston said.

Not only did Charleston bring the victory home for himself, but for the Warrior swim team as a whole. He managed to beat eight other teams and made his teammates proud in the process.

“I think this is huge for both the swim team and North Cobb as a whole. This accomplishment is huge and something to be proud of, especially because I know Dane Worked hard to get where he is today,” teammate, junior Noelle Riedman said.

After celebrating his victory, Charleston continued to practice regularly, striving to stay in shape for college. Prior to GHSA he committed to Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, IUPUI, where he will further his swim career and plans to keep pushing himself to improve.

Charleston’s dedication to the sport and his constant drive lead him to victory. Countless hours of hard work over 13 years lead him to find success on a state level, and with his commitment to IUPUI he possesses no intention of stopping any time soon. His passion for swimming along with the support of all of his team mates encourage him to keep improving and to always perform to the best of his abilities.

“I’ve been swimming since I was 5, and my parents got me into swim but I also played football until 8th grade. After winning I was just super happy that everything I had done prior paid off, but the time I went in the race wasn’t what I hoped for and I did a lot of things badly so I was hungry to keep improving. I’m swimming for IUPUI in college, and I think most of my success is due to the intensive effort I’ve put into practices in the last few years,” Charleston said.