Ben Irwin Breaks Gunnar Bentz’s 9-Year-Old Georgia High School 100 Fly Record

2023 GHSA 7A State Swimming & Diving Meet

• Jan. 30-Feb. 1, 2023
• Georgia Tech Aquatic Center
  • Atlanta, Georgia
• SCY (25 yards)
• Results on MeetMobile: “2023 GHSA 7A State Swimming & Diving Meet”

Buford High School senior Ben Irwin broke the Georgia High School record in the 100-yard butterfly at the GHSA 7A State Swimming & Diving Meet on Wednesday.

Irwin clocked a time of 46.94 to take down the previous record of 47.26 set by two-time Olympian Gunnar Bentz in 2014. Irwin also won a state title in the 100 backstroke with a 46.91. Those times, both Buford school records, were just off his personal bests from Winter Juniors in December. He rounded out his last state championship meet with a 21.66 leadoff back split in the 200 medley relay and a 20.20 leadoff split in the 200 free relay.

SwimSwam’s No. 17 recruit in the high school class of 2023, Irwin initially committed to Georgia Tech before switching to Navy, giving the Midshipmen their first 19-point 50-yard freestyler in program history.

Irwin’s SwimAtlanta club teammate, North Gwinnett senior Tristan DenBrok, also secured a pair of state titles in the 200 free (1:37.48) and 500 free (4:20.75), repeating as champion in each event. DenBrok, a Georgia commit, anchored the Bulldogs’ team victories in the 200 medley relay (20.10 split) and 200 free relay (20.20 split), but it wasn’t quite enough to lift the North Gwinnett boys to their eighth consecutive state title.

Walton used its depth to snap the Bulldogs’ streak at seven team championships in a row, edging them by just eight points for their first title since going back-to-back in 2014 and 2015. The Raiders built upon their county championship win and earned podium finishes in five of the 11 events.

Brookwood freshman Baylor Stanton triumphed in the 200 IM with a 1:46.52, shaving a couple tenths off his previous best. He just turned 15 years old, but that time already ranks 23rd all-time in the boys’ 15-16 national age group (NAG). Stanton also placed second in the 100 back (48.18) to help the Brookwood boys record a third-place finish in the team standings.

Boys Team Scores

1. Walton, 414
2. North Gwinnett, 406
3. Brookwood, 345
4. Parkview, 245
5. Lambert, 229

On the girls side, North Gwinnett avenged an 11-point loss to Brookwood at the Gwinnett County meet two weeks ago, en route to the program’s first-ever state team championship.

Emma Reiser defended her crown in the 500 free (4:51.27), and she’ll have a chance to make it a three-peat next year as she’s still only a junior. She was the only individual champion for the North Gwinnett girls, but they nonetheless dominated with podium finishes in 10 of the 11 events. The Bulldogs also reached the wall first in the 200 medley relay and 200 free relay.

Norcross senior Catie Choate won the 100 back (53.36) for the fourth time in her high school career, missing her state-record time from last year by just a hundredth of a second. Choate also won a state title in the 200 IM (2:01.39).

Lambert senior Kara West repeated as state champion in the 50 free. Her winning time of 22.87 was just two-tenths shy of the state record.

Runner-up Brookwood couldn’t quite break through on top of the podium. Sophomore standout Hailey Dopson placed second in the 100 back (54.37) and third in the 100 free (51.61), while Brookwood’s 200 free relay and 400 free relay teams both tallied third-place finishes.

Girls Team Scores

1. North Gwinnett, 429.5
2. Brookwood, 374
3. Lambert, 285.5
4. Walton, 249.5
5. Wheeler, 206