Bio

Saying you are one of the all-time greats in Hawken Swimming history is no small feat, and Katherine Creighton Bender is in that rarified air. In just a two-year Hawken swimming career from 1987 through 1988, Creighton Bender was a four-time individual state champion, winning back-to-back 500 freestyle state championships and breaking the Division I state record in that event her senior year. She was also an integral member of two relay state championship teams while winning the Old Board and two team state championships for the Hawks. While attending Wyoming High School in Cincinnati for her freshman and sophomore years, she also won the state championship in the 500 freestyle, making her the first Ohio female athlete to win four consecutive individual state titles (a feat which earned her a mention in Sports Illustrated) and earning High School All-American status. She continued her swimming career at the University of Michigan, where as a senior she was the Big Ten champion in the mile, runner-up in the 500 freestyle, and 5th place finisher in the mile at the NCAA Division I Swimming Championships.

Katherine currently works in real estate and is on the board of Camp Sunshine of Aurora, a camp for children with disabilities. She lives in Aurora, OH with her husband Jay and their three children, John, Annalise, and Shane.