Age Group Coach of the Year Dustin Bengston (right) with Eden Troxell, a two-time state champion in 2018.

TIFTON — Tiftarea Tidal Wave head coach Dustin Bengston was recently honored by Georgia Swimming for his coaching accomplishments in the state of Georgia at last weekend’s 14-and-under state championship meet at Georgia Tech.

Bengston won the Age Group Coach of the Year, which is determined by the Coaches Chair after reviewing performance-based statistics from the previous year.

Eden Troxell won two state championships, the 500 and 1,000 freestyle and Beau Bengston won the 200 freestyle. Others finishing in the top 10 were J.D. Bengston, Brynna Burke and the relay team of Karoline Ponder, Ainsley Toews, Cason Johnston and Troxell.

Coach Bengston coached the highest percentage of his club’s swimmers to top 10 spots in the Local Swimming Committee (LSC). During his career, Bengston has led swimmers to 40 individual state titles and multiple individual top 10 rankings in the United States. At the Long Course state championships, the Tidal Wave won the small team division in 2014, 2015 and 2017 under Bengston.

A former competitive swimmer, Bengston was a Florida high school state champion and four-time high school All-American. He swam for Florida State University and was a two-time All-American and two-time Atlantic Coast Conference champion. He also competed in the 1996 United States Olympic Trials.