Eshal Firoze | The Chronicle
This winter, senior Bella Teply will dye her hair green one last time before the Mason High School (MHS) Swim Team goes to the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) State Championship meet. After a dominating high school career, Teply is preparing for her final season before continuing her swimming journey at Northwestern University, where she will compete at the Division I level.
As part of the Mason Swim Team, Teply has made incredible strides, from winning the Greater Miami Conference (GMC) Athlete of the Year in her freshman year, breaking the 100-meter freestyle pool record, and leading the Comets to multiple GMC Championships, to becoming a State Champion in the 100 and 200 freestyle in her junior year. Year-round, she trains with the Mason Manta Rays’ High Performance group, competing in the Summer and Winter Junior Nationals annually. In 2024, she assisted her team to a seventh-place national finish overall.
But before Teply’s name became synonymous with Mason swimming alone, her athletic career was split between swimming pools and dry land. As a freshman, she helped lead the Mason Girls Cross Country team to a State Championship title, and followed it up with a third-place finish at State her sophomore year. Individually, Teply earned GMC First Team All-Conference honors for three consecutive years. While balancing two demanding sports, she eventually realized swimming was the sport she wanted to focus on.
“I always knew I was going to have to choose a sport senior year,” Teply said. “It would be a lot to do both. [Swimming has] become something I really look forward to every single day, and I am really excited for this season and to lead the team the same way the upperclassmen did for me.”
For Teply, the culture Mason Swimming has upheld is what has allowed her to thrive. She said that the small traditions and the tight-knit bond they share have allowed them to thrive season after season.
Bella Teply (middle) dives off the blocks into her finals race at the Summer Junior Nationals in July 2025.
“[Swimming] is definitely an individual sport at times,” Teply said. “But there is just something about high school swimming [that makes it]more of a team than anything. We are all there for each other, even on our lowest. If I am having a rough day, my teammates are the first ones to ask if I am okay.”
Like every elite athlete, Teply has learned to respond to the mental pressures of competition, supporting her team while also rising to her personal goals. Over the years, she has learned to stay resilient and focus on the bigger picture.
“The times got in my head, and I would focus more on the numbers than the execution of the race,” Teply said. “High school swimming has shown me that anything can happen. I have to remember that one race doesn’t define me.”
The Mason Girls Swim team has claimed GMC championships every year since 2007, and head coach Mark Sullivan knows what it takes to lead an elite team to consistent success.
“[Bella is] highly dedicated to her sport,” Sullivan said. “She never misses practices and fights through illnesses. She knows what her goals are and does everything she possibly can to get ahead and achieve those.”
In his time as a coach, Sullivan has recognized that leadership, in all shapes and forms, is necessary in and out of the water. Sullivan understands the impact Teply’s consistency and work ethic has left on the Mason swim team.
“[She] raises the bar,” Sullivan said. “When [others] see that caliber of a person working consistently on a day-to-day basis, they emulate that.”
Now in her senior year, Teply hopes to leave a legacy defined by more than medals and record times. She wants to be remembered as a leader and someone who supported her teammates in the same way she has been supported throughout her entire career.
“It is easy to get lost sometimes when you are training every day for so long,” Teply said. “It is sometimes hard to look at that long-term goal and stay present. [I am] working on the small goals, improving the little details. If I improve and work on those, the long-term goals will come.”
Teply’s strength is her natural competitiveness, along with the growth mindset that has fueled her rise to one of the top swimmers in Ohio. Over time, she learned to believe in something greater than herself, and the lessons she has learned as a Mason swimmer are what she hopes will bring her success as a Division I swimmer next year.
“Competing is when I get the most excited,” Teply said. “I love stepping over the block and racing the people next to me. It has become something I look forward to every single day. I have realized I am not just competing for myself, [I am] competing for something bigger, the team.”
