Team captain of the Eastside swimming team, National Honors Society and 2015 Georgia Governor's Honors program graduate. Those are just some of the accolades on Eastside senior Trey Hanson’s belt.

Hanson’s last year as an Eagle swimmer was a great year for him. He helped his team make state and he was the team’s points champ for 2015-2016.

“That’s just the best part, just icing on the cake. After five years of swimming that’s what I was looking for,” Hanson said of earning points champ this past season.

And he did it all while taking “move on when ready” college courses at the college formerly known as Georgia Perimeter and maintaining a 3.87 GPA at Eastside.

“I really just managed my time and focused on school work when it’s time to focus on school work and then swimming comes second. I really do have the support of my parents and help from them with everything,” Trey said.

“He puts his time in,” Tom Hanson, Trey’s father, said. “He’s an incredible scholar and he has an incredible memory. Education comes naturally to him, but he does have his priorities right. He’s in this looking at the big picture, he’s not looking at just having fun. There’s a bigger goal.”

This year saw Trey step up into more of a leadership role than ever before. He became a motivator and a beacon of knowledge for his teammates.

“He’s really stepped out of what his norm was, with just being a participant,” Tom Hanson, who is also an assistant coach on the team, said.

“Trey has been a true leader this year on the swim team. He began during preseason by leading the swimmers in dryland workouts each day to help them prepare physically. Trey also motivated all the members of the team to do their best at every workout and every meet,” said Michelle Kennedy, Eastside’s head coach. “His pre-race pep talks would always emphasize the importance of doing what’s best for the team. His friendly smile and outstanding attitude will be greatly missed. Trey was always someone that could be counted on to give it his best effort every time he was in the water and on the pool deck.”

Before swimming at Eastside, Trey Hanson was a club swimmer and his experience was quite useful to his younger teammates as well as his senior classmates. He was helpful in multiple aspects, from helping teammates get their stroke right to leading dry land training before the season ever started.

As a senior, Trey Hanson says that his swimming in his senior year is his most memorable experience as well as his teammates.

“Definitely the teammates, they really made the experience,” Trey said. “Cutting up inside and outside of practices, always pushing each other to wanna do our best, helping here and there.”

Currently, Trey Hanson has his application in to attend Georgia College and State University where Trey plans to major in outdoor education and athletic development. Post-college, Trey’s dream is to become a swimming coach at any level, whether that be in grade school or college.

“Swimming just has meant so much to me and I wanna be able to help other kids feel that experience that I felt,” Trey Hanson said. “Seeing where you start from nothing and you build up to where you wanna be and I just wanna be able to help other kids reach that goal.”