Lakewood Ranch-area swimmers follow similar paths toward their goals

Abigail Hite and Denis Jones have been on this journey together. 

Jones and Hite are childhood friends and both swim for the Sarasota Tsunami club swimming organization.

Both were zoned to Lakewood Ranch High, but before starting high school, they heard about the International Baccalaureate Program offered at Bradenton's Southeast High, an alternative to things like AP classes which aims to encourage critical thinking and promotes an international perspective.

Hite and Jones said they both value academics, and as they are interested in engineering, they wanted the best preparation possible. 

They decided to go on the journey to Southeast High together. Since becoming Seminoles, Hite and Jones have been chasing swimming medals. Hite earned one last year, finishing second at the 2022 Florida High School Athletic Association Class 3A state meet in the girls 100-yard breaststroke (1:04.77).

Jones had the eighth-best time in the boys 500-yard freestyle (4:41.06) at the same event. Now seniors, both swimmers said they can reached greater heights in 2023, as Hite is the fastest returnee in her event, while four swimmers who finished in front of Jones in 2022 have since graduated. 

Photo by Isabella Parker

Jones and Hite have until Nov. 11, when the Class 3A state meet will be held in Ocala, to get prepared. 

"You need to go into practices knowing they are going to be difficult," Jones said, on trying to get his times as low as possible. "There's no other way you are going to get better. You have to be consistent. That's one thing I've learned in the past year. There's no skipping because you are tired. I have a good mindset now. I can push myself." 

Hite agreed. She, like most top swimmers, spends the majority of her practice time with her club team. Hite said she completes nine practice sessions with the Tsunami each week that includes a two-hour practice each afternoon, plus shorter morning sessions on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and a two-and-a-half hour practice on Saturdays.

Jones follows a similar schedule. It's a significant amount of time to devote to someone's craft, especially with the added rigor of Southeast's IB program. If the pursuit of state medals is the goal, though, it is a necessity. 

The swimmers would not have it any other way. In fact, Hite will occasionally add in cross-training sessions, like running, to work on different muscles. Hite said she likes to compete in triathlons in the summer as a different type of challenge. 

Jones likes to be challenged, too. It's why he prefers to be a distance swimmer as opposed to a sprint swimmer. Longer events, like the 1,500 freestyle, can last 10 minutes or more, with swimmers pushing their bodies on every stroke. 

"You're swimming, and you're halfway through the race, and it's the most painful thing ever," Jones said. "You could stop. But you think to yourself, 'No. I'm going to finish this race and finish hard.' That feeling when you finish, with all that lactic acid in your body, it's just relief. It's great. And then you are super sore the next day, but you can stretch it out." 

Photo by Ryan Kohn

At a Sept. 27 meet at the Lakewood Ranch YMCA that pitted Southeast against Lakewood Ranch High, Manatee High, Bradenton Christian School and The Out-of-Door Academy, Hite took first place in the girls 100 breaststroke (1:06.85) and the girls 200 individual medley (2:11.53). Jones won the boys 100 freestyle (52.25 seconds). He did not compete in his signature 500 freestyle, saving his strength for later races.

Both swimmers will be much faster by the state meet, and in the grand scheme of the season, how a swimmer performs at a middle-of-the-year meet does not mean much. But neither swimmer would want to skip ahead to state meet, if that was an option. As seniors, they are embracing the time they have left at this level. 

"High school meets are fun," Hite said. "I'm just hanging out with my friends. There's not much pressure so I get to enjoy everything. Club meets are more serious. Here, you're swimming to see where you're at and to have fun." 

As Jones swam the 100 freestyle at the Sept. 27 meet, Hite was sitting with a group of friends, but turned her attention to the pool to cheer on her friend. They have been competing in meets together for most of their lives, and now that their high school careers are coming to an end, it's time to savor every moment left. 

If they have it their way, it will end with Hite and Jones wearing medals around their necks.