Elliott
Childress is in his 5th year as Athletic Director at Triangle Math &
Science Academy. He oversees all aspects of the Tiger Athletics program at the
high school and middle school levels.
Coach Childress
graduated from Appalachian State University with a Bachelor’s of Science in
Physical Education K-12 and a minor in Human Studies. He also played baseball
while at ASU. He spent 8 years coaching baseball at the high school and American Legion levels before obtaining his Master’s Degree in Physical Education from East Carolina
University and pursuing a career in Athletic Administration.
Under
Childress’ leadership, Triangle Math & Science Academy made the successful
transition from the CAASC Athletic Conference to the North Carolina High School
Athletic Association (NCHSAA) in the fall of 2019 - as part of the North
Central 1A Athletic Conference. In 2021, TMSA joined the Central Tar Heel 1A
Athletic Conference. In the Spring of 2022, Coach Childress founded the Greater Triangle Athletic Conference (GTAC) for middle school. He currently serves as the President.
In March of 2024, Coach Childress received the North Carolina Athletic Director's Association Citation Award. This award is presented to individuals who have made a significant impact in their school, conference, and/or region.
In the Fall of 2021, TMSA earned its first state championship berth in an individual sport
(Cross Country) by earning 3 state qualifying times (Mina Cayli, Courtney McCloughan, and
Essey Beraki). Cayli (54th) holds the record for highest place finish for our Women's team to date and Beraki set the school record for highest place finish for our Men's team at the time (93rd).
In the Winter of 2021-2022, both of TMSA's Varsity Basketball teams made the playoffs for the first time in school history. The Women's team earned the #25 seed while the men's team earned the #20 seed - both in the 1A East.
In the Spring of 2022, the Men’s Tennis secured TMSA’s first team championship in school
history. Two pairs of double teams (Prahalad Srinivasan/Eric Wu and Alex
Rhodes/Harvik Kolla) qualified for 1A East Regional play. As a team, TMSA
earned the #1 seed for NCHSAA Dual-Team playoffs.
During the 2021-2022 athletic year, Men’s Basketball, Women’s Basketball, Men’s Soccer, Women’s Soccer, and Men's Tennis set school records for wins in their respective sports and all teams qualified for the NCHSAA state tournament for the first time in school history.
In the Fall of 2022, Nishant Srinivasa qualified as an individual for the State Championship meet in Cross Country. His 88th place finish (20:48.12) was the highest place finish for the Men's team to date.
During the Winter of 2022-2023, the Women's Basketball team earned the #16 seed in the NCHSAA 1A East playoffs. As a result, TMSA hosted its first-ever playoff game and, later, recorded their first playoff win in NCHSAA history (a 65-35 win over Weldon High School). They also set a school record for wins in a season (16).
In the Spring of 2023, the Men’s Tennis secured another Central Tar Heel Conference championship. This was the first back-to-back championship in school history. After setting a season record for wins, TMSA earned the #2 seed for NCHSAA Dual-Team playoffs in the 1A East Regional. They went on to finish as Regional Runner-Up. This was the first time in school history that a TMSA team made a regional final. They also set another season-high wins total in 2023.
On the individual side of Men's Tennis, Prahalad Srinivasan was named Central Tar Heel Conference Player of the Year, along with winning the 1A East Regional Individual title (both were respective firsts in TMSA Men's Tennis history). Additionally, Eric Wu also qualified for regionals in singles and the duo of Harvik Kolla and Alex Rhodes qualified for regional play in doubles as well.
In addition to Men's Tennis success in the Spring of 2023, the Women's Soccer team also set records of their own - setting a program record for victories and capturing the first Women's Soccer playoff win (a 3-2 PK win at Southside HS) in school history. The Baseball team also set program records for wins.
In the Fall of 2023, TMSA reached new heights in an athletic season - bringing home 2 Conference Championships (Men's Cross Country and Women's Tennis), a team state berth (Men's Cross Country), an individual regional championship (Women's Tennis - Doubles), and the school's first individual state championship (Women's Tennis - Doubles).
In Cross Country, the Men's team edged out Woods Charter for the Central Tar Heel Conference crown. Nishant Srinivasa (Runner of the Year) paced the Tigers - finishing in 1st place, followed by Ashvin Manoj (3rd place), and Sina Dehghani (4th place). Following their CTHC success, the men's team finished 4th in the 1A Mideast Regional - advancing to the state meet for the first time as a team in school history. Srinivasa (2nd) and Manoj (8th) earned All-Region accolades for their top-10 finishes. Srinivasa would go on to beat his previous year's finish - placing 42nd - setting a new school record with a time of 17:56.83 (beating his time from 2022 by almost 3 minutes). Ashvin Manoj (68) also captured a top-100 finish with a time of 18:35.60. As a team, TMSA finished in the top 15 (#14).
In their inaugural season, Women's Tennis captured the Central Tar Heel Conference crown - going undefeated in the league. As a team, the Tigers earned the #3 seed for the 1A East and advanced to the 1A East Semifinals.
On the individual side of Women's Tennis, Brianna Viets (CTHC Player of the Year) and Sasha Korjova (All-CTHC Conference) won the doubles conference championship, followed that up by winning the 1A East Regional title, and culminated their dominant run with 3 convincing NCHSAA State Tournament wins - where they dropped only 4 games in their 3 matches at Cary Tennis Park. This was the first individual state title in the history of TMSA Athletics.
During the Winter of 2023-2024, the Women's Basketball team earned the #15 seed in the NCHSAA 1A East playoffs. As a result, TMSA hosted a home playoff game in back-to-back seasons for the first time in the history of the basketball program (Men's or Women's). They also broke their own record (set just a year ago) for wins in a season.
Also in the Winter of 2023-2024, Samrita Sriram notched her 1,000th career point in her team's 64-18 win over Ascend Leadership Academy on January 19th. She is TMSA's first-ever 1,000 point scorer (Men's or Women's).
“I am excited to continue building an athletic program that represents the diverse community that is Triangle Math & Science Academy. Since 2012, TMSA has been the gold standard in academics and I believe that with the hard work and dedication of our student-athletes, coaches, parents, administration, and community, our athletics program can follow suit, continuing to reach new heights year in and year out."
"My ultimate goal as TMSA's Athletic Director is to provide an athletic program that extends the learning experience beyond the classroom, while creating a culture of excellence both on and off the field. I firmly believe that participation in athletics is a transformative experience that teaches the values of teamwork, perseverance, and sportsmanship. I want to continue cultivating an environment where students develop physically, socially, as well as mentally, while ensuring each one feels valued, empowered, and reaches their fullest potential as a student-athlete.”
“As
a former high school and collegiate athlete, as well as a coach, I understand
the value that education-based athletics affords our student-athletes. Not only
does participation in sports improve fitness levels and sport-specific performance,
it also teaches student-athletes how to lead, how be a better teammate, how to handle
adversity, and how persistence paves the way to greatness. Education-based
athletics also has a positive impact on academic success, as well as help
students learn how to manage their time and develop leadership skills that will transcend the realm of athletics and help prepare them for their
future.”
#BERELENTLESS
