The Grind, presented by Bank of Clarendon: Hewett brothers take Sumter High, Wilson Hall swim programs to new heights

The Hewett family had a pretty solid month of October.

In the span of three days, Jordan and Jacob Hewett represented their respective schools, Sumter High and Wilson Hall, in state championships. On Thursday, Oct. 9, Jordan went to Columbia and took home the Gamecocks' first state title in decades, winning the 500-yard freestyle in the final race of his high school career. Two days later, Jacob went to North Charleston with the Barons and left with two individual titles and a championship in the 200 free relay. All three races were also program records.

Not too shabby.

The success was built on months of making the long, nearly daily drive to Columbia to compete with Columbia Swimming, as both Hewett brothers took their game to a whole new level.

"It's special. I don't think very many families, especially two brothers, get to go to their state meets and both win at something," Jordan said. "I think it shows that we both work hard, that we're good, hard workers and we like to compete with each other."

STARTING AT THE Y

Jordan and Jacob both have a familiar origin story in the pool. When the Hewetts moved to Sumter from Georgia, the house they lived in had a pool in the backyard. Jody Hewett, their dad, naturally wanted his boys to be able to enjoy it, so they went to the YMCA for swimming lessons. That decision quickly blossomed into much more than learning the basics.

"It all starts somewhere, and for them, it started with swim lessons at the Y," Jody said of his sons, who are three years apart. "The Y has two pools, and you can see one from the other and, back then, while Jordan was getting swim lessons, the swim team was in the other pool having practice, so he saw that from the very beginning."

Jordan is three years older than Jacob, so he got the first crack at joining the swim team at the Y, but the younger Hewett brother wasn't far behind. Pretty quickly, they were fiercely competing to see who was superior in the pool.

"We compete all the time. We started right around the same time, so our times were pretty much the same," Jordan said. "For me, I don't ever want to get beat by him because he's crazy fast for being three years younger than me. I'm like, I've got to step up my game because that's pretty embarrassing for him to beat me. He's always pushing me to do better."

Jody was just glad that both of his boys could thrive in the same sport. It definitely makes weekends with the family much easier when everyone can go to the same place.

"Selfishly, as a parent, to have two kids doing the same sport at the same time and the same place, that's a blessing," Jody said. "From very early, they're brothers, so there's always a little bit of competition, but they're definitely different kids and different swimmers."

BRANCHING OUT

As the Hewetts developed, they started to thrive. The ribbons piled up as they competed at the state level. As Jordan started high school, they started to realize that they needed a change. One of the people who kept the Hewetts at the Y was their coach, Tina Tarpen. When her husband was deployed and she moved out of Sumter, the Hewetts started to survey their options. They started with the simplest option.

"When she left, it was me and the boys and YouTube," Jody said. "It's hard to be a dad and a coach, so eventually they outgrew me and YouTube. I knew they both had the ability to be better swimmers and be competitive swimmers in South Carolina. There was a coach I had seen around the state who produced good swimmers, and they were all just nice people. Her team was never rowdy, they were respectful, they looked disciplined, and their performances were good."

That coach was Lori Petrimoulx with Columbia Swimming. The decision to start swimming in Columbia came with a cost. At least four days a week, the Hewetts, along with their younger sister Anna, make the trek over to Columbia to practice. One day out of the week in the fall, they'll practice with their respective high school teams, but most of their time is spent with Columbia Swimming.

"It helped us with the commitment part," Jody said. "Knowing that we're driving to Columbia so much. But knowing that they were able to progress and keep up with the other swimmers that were there affirmed to us that it's working."

Jordan and Jacob made the decision to move over to Columbia last fall, and they've gotten faster ever since. They're able to compete daily with elite competition, which includes teammates like Ewan Dalrymple, a member of the United States Junior National Team.

"There's been a lot of good growth since we joined the team," Jacob said. "It does get tiring driving to Columbia for practice every day, but it's definitely worth it."

SPLITTING UP IN SCHOOL

Around the time they decided to start swimming together in Columbia, Jordan and Jacob went their separate ways at the high school level. Jacob started his varsity swimming career with his brother at Sumter High but needed a fresh academic challenge and moved, alongside his younger sister, to Wilson Hall. Luckily, Jacob had some familiar faces with the Barons, but he definitely noticed some differences between SCHSL and SCISA swimming.

"The time standards were a little slower, but there were definitely a lot more kids," Jacob said of joining Wilson Hall. "Most of the kids on the team we already swam with through the Y, so it also felt like a family joining the team."

The move came during Jordan's junior year, and he was already hungry to take a big step in the pool. The elder Hewett qualified for state in each of his first two years of high school but didn't get to compete in the state meet as a sophomore because he broke his thumb three weeks before the meet. Doctors told him that he would need four weeks to heal.

"I tried so hard (to find a way to swim). I asked them, 'Couldn't you just cut the cast off for the day?' And he was like, 'No, you can't do that.' I tried, but that doctor wouldn't hear it," Jordan said. "I felt so bad. I felt like I let the team down, kinda. We could've done great and had a team go to state, but we didn't get a chance to. I really made sure that junior year, I would prepare myself in every way and not do dumb stuff like that. That's what I did, and I feel like I bounced back pretty good my junior year."

He certainly did.

Not only did Jordan earn a trip back to state, but Sumter High sent a relay team, too. For a program used to sending one or two individuals to state, seeing most of their boys team in the pool was a blessing.

"For me, it was really special. My freshman year, it was just me and Anthony (Benenhaley), then it was just Anthony because I broke my thumb. To have four other guys there, it was special. It was Anthony's last year, Jack (Easton)'s last year. It was special, it was fun."

Jordan had an excellent meet, finishing third in the 500 free with a time of 4:50.39 while finishing eighth in the 200 free. He also swam with Anthony Benenhaley, Jack Easton and Gabriel Kirkhart in the 400 free relay and the 200 medley relay.

While Jordan was making his mark at Sumter High, Jacob was tearing through the Wilson Hall record books as an eighth-grader. He set a new school record in the 200 individual medley, which he broke at the state meet on his way to a SCISA championship. He also set a new program record in the 400 free relay with Logan Schumacher, Stirling Tindal and Cliff Bath, as the team finished third.

Wilson Hall head coach Jeanna Mahr has known the Hewetts since their days at the Y and loved watching Jacob come in and immediately plaster his name on the Baron record books. His success immediately lit a fire under his Wilson Hall teammates.

"It's fun to watch. Records are meant to be broken. That's the whole fun about records; it's having something to aim for and break them," Jeanna said. "Jacob being an eighth-grader, I don't think that mattered. They're all really good friends, so it was about how can they be as good as Jacob and what do they need to do to do that. That dynamic has been good to have on the team. They started having double workouts, having morning and afternoon practices to be on the same caliber as Jacob, and they're getting there."

AN INCREDIBLE WEEK

All of the Hewetts' hard work culminated in one week earlier this month. Jacob got the first crack at bringing home some hardware, though he had a bit of an emotional roller coaster throughout the day.

"I was going through the day feeling pretty good. I get to the pool, I warm up, and I felt pretty good. I felt strong, felt smooth. The first race was good. I had a PR (personal record) in that race and got sixth place. I didn't win, but I felt pretty good. I was happy with that. I started to doubt myself a little bit. I'm not in the best shape right now, but we'll see how it goes. I got in that pool again, swam again, and I did good. I just did what my coaches told me to do and focused on what they tell me to do, which is keep my strokes long and pull and don't forget to kick and watch your breath. That's what I did."

Jordan's first race was the 200 free, where he placed sixth with a time of 1:47.78. Head coach Cathy Kirkhart challenged the senior to try to match his pace in the 200 when he jumped into the pool for the 500. It was a challenging task, but Jordan's greatest strength is his endurance.

"You just can't think; you've just got to do it. If you think too much, you're not going to do it," Jordan said of trying to match his 200 pace. "You have to be able to put yourself in the pain cave, and you've got to stay there. You've just got to kick and go, and that's what I did."

Jody was emotional watching his son stand on the podium. Weeks later, he's still beaming with pride thinking about what his son accomplished.

"I've always believed Jordan has it in him to do as much as he wants and to be as good as he wants if he's willing to work for it," Jody said. "For the last year, Jordan has worked so hard. For Jordan to stand on top of the podium, in the middle, in first place after all these years to be at a meet by himself, it's a lot, but it was great. I have known for so long that he can do that if he wanted to."

Jody stressed that his son was able to reach the milestone because of persistence in the pool. One detail he always imparted on his son was a lesson from Bob Bowman, the coach for Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time.

"Every day, you make a deposit. At meets, you make withdrawals, but you need to have made the deposit first," Jody said, quoting Bowman. "In this last year, Jordan has learned how to make more meaningful deposits that he can pull from. It showed that night. He had a wonderful swim. Not only did he have a good time, but technically, he had a good swim."

Jordan couldn't have asked for a better way to conclude his high school career than winning the 500 with a time of 4:46.62, claiming victory by nearly five seconds.

"It was special; I loved it," he said. "My grandparents were there, they're from Alabama, so they were there, and they saw it, my mom and dad saw it. They were at practice, so they didn't see it, but it was crazy."

A couple days later, Jacob jumped into the pool trying to do the same thing. He definitely had a little extra motivation to one-up his brother. That fire turned into two individual titles and a relay championship.

"When he got home and I saw that he won one, I was like, 'I'm going to beat you and win two,'" Jacob said. "Once I won two, I kinda bragged about it a little bit. It was fun."

The younger Hewett brother had an immaculate day in the pool. He won the 200 individual medley, breaking his own school record with a time of 1:56.52. He just missed out on the SCISA record, falling short by .52 seconds in an event that showcases his talent in all four strokes.

"Having to prepare to do all four is very tough because the butterfly, that starts it out really hard," Jacob said of the challenge that comes with the individual medley. "Your shoulders are starting to die, and then you get on your back. For me, backstroke isn't my specialty, so I just have to keep my lead, hopefully, and get safely to the breaststroke and build on my lead or catch up to people. And then freestyle, I have to bring it home as hard as I can."

Jacob also broke the school record in the 100 breaststroke, overtaking Jack Poag's mark with a time of 59.92. For good measure, he joined Cliff Bath, Ryan Brown and Banks Smith on the 200 free relay team, winning the title with a time of 1:34.01, another school record. Three state titles in one day is physically taxing, but he found a way to make it work.

"For a high school meet where it's all on one day, there's definitely more pressure because it feels like you're going back-to-back-to-back," he said. "Your muscles start to get tired after the first or second one, and after the third, you're kinda dead."

While Jacob was dominating, Jordan was right in his corner the entire time.

"They both support each other so much," Jeanna said. "Jordan was there at the state meet telling Jacob, 'You've got this.' I told Jordan to go coach him at the warm-down pool while I was coaching other kids, and Jordan was there talking him through it. It's just great to see them support each other."

IMPACT ON SUMTER AND BEYOND

When Jeanna looks at the success that Jordan and Jacob have experienced this fall, she sees it as an incredible win for the Sumter swimming community as a whole. They've proven that greatness can come from the simplest first steps.

"It really gives us some advertisement for the swimming community. It's great to see them come from the humble beginnings of the Y and shoot off into greatness," she said. "It's great for the swim community. It's made our Wilson Hall kids strive for greater PRs. To have a whole family swimming like that, it's amazing."

The spectacular fall is also helping Jordan, as he prepares to make the jump to collegiate swimming. He's making his second college visit to Virginia Military Institute this weekend. He already has an offer from the school, which he has all but formally accepted. He's already setting a new set of goals after checking off some important milestones in high school.

"I want to break some of their records because I'm looking at my times and their freshman records, my times aren't far off from them," Jordan said. "I want to go and try to better myself to the best version of me that I can."

Jacob will miss having his carpool partner to Columbia, but he plans to keep pushing for more records in the final three years of his high school career.

"It'll be a little different not having him there, but I still have some good swim friends that swim on the team, so hopefully they'll keep me company," he said. "(Now the goal is) to be able to improve the records and make sure they're not going to be taken down right after I leave."

As they look back on their time spent at Sumter Aquatics Center, which serves as the home pool for both Sumter High and Wilson Hall, the Hewetts are thankful for all the people who helped them on their journey to championship glory.

"It's not just the pool, it's the people that got me here, the people that helped me here. Coaches like Coach Cathy, teammates like Anthony and Gabe and people like that," Jordan said. "And then my dad, he really pushed us; not just here, but especially when we were on that Y team. Dad helped a lot, especially when we were trying to find a coach. Even at times, him playing that coach/dad role was a little hard, but I think it was what we needed."

Jody is just thankful for the hours the Hewetts have been able to spend as a family at the pool. While they may have spent a few more hours in the car than they would like, it was more than worth it to have a built-in excuse to spend every weekend together.

"I have absolutely loved having all three of them doing the same thing because we don't have to separate weekends as a family. Even though we're not always home on the weekend as a family, we're together as a family. I do think that's a blessing," Jody said. "Even though we are gone a lot, because at the level the kids swim at, there are a lot of swim meets and to get to the better meets, you have to go further and further away, we're there together as a family, instead of being separated. I love watching the kids swim, and I think the swimming community is a great community to be a part of."