THOMASVILLE – Last week, Thomasville and Thomas County Central’s swim teams competed in the Dean Ferrell Invitational as the Bulldogs honored their seniors.

Thomasville performed well in the pool on Thursday. Combined, Thomasville took third overall with 200 points. The girls took second with 182 and the boys were third with 18 points.

Violet Illian performed especially well at the Dean Ferrell Invitational. She finished top three in multiple races, including third in the 200 free and second in the girl’s 100 free with a time of 1:10.10. She was also part of the Thomasville relay team of Illian, Campbell Newman, McCartney Bell, and Sarah Kate Still that finished second in the 200 medley. The Girls also finished first in the 200-free relay with a time of 2:03.46.

McCartney Bell clinched a win for the Bulldogs in the 500 free, finishing first with a time of 6:46.37. Gracie Jones was just under a minute behind Bell, securing third. 

The Bulldogs boys were not without their success. Nicholas Singley finished third in the boy’s 100 free with a time of 1.03.38.

Thomasville took time on Thursday to celebrate its senior swimmers. 

Thomas County Central took the overall win at the Dean Ferrell Invitational with 393 points. The girls finished first with 211 and the boys finished first with 182. The Yellow Jackets dominated in the freestyle events, taking a top-three spot in nine races.

Central took the top four in the boy’s 50 free with Johnny Bradshaw finishing first at 25.03 and Cabe Parker less than a second behind in second. The Yellow Jackets took first in the girl’s 200 free, the boy’s and girl’s 100 free, the boy’s 500 free, and the boy’s 200 and 400 free relay. Central also won the boy’s and girl’s 200-yard medley. 

Parker had an excellent day in the pool, helping the Yellow Jackets win the 200 medley and winning the 100 free as the only swimmer to finish in under a minute. 

Kayla Bruce also had multiple wins on Thursday. She helped the Lady Jackets swimmers to a win in the 200 medley and took an individual win in the 100 free.