THOMASVILLE - Two young men from Cairo, Ga., are champion swimmers and getting even better, thanks to rigorous practice sessions in Tallahassee six days a week, a schedule they've maintained for years.

Hunter Hinson and Jackson Brannon together comprise Brookwood School's swim team that won second place for Boys Teams in the Georgia Independent School Association State Championships swim meet for 2009. The two swam against much larger teams, proving they can hold their own against their state competition, even when they're outnumbered, with some school teams made up of more than 20 students.

In the State Championships final competition last winter, after the Brookwood team of two had taken turns participating in most of the races for boys, they both hit the water for the Varsity Boys 100-yard Backstroke. Hinson came in first, earning 9 points for his 51.84 finals time, and Brannon was a close second, earning 7 points for his 57.97 time.

"They scored enough points between just the two of them to rank second overall as a team," said Brookwood Athletic Director Robert East. "This is an incredible accomplishment for these athletes. They put hours of their own time into preparation without any special credit, other than the chance to compete and hopefully earn a college scholarship."

Since Brookwood has no swimming pool on campus and no swim coach on its staff, all the credit for this extraordinary ranking goes to the two dedicated young students who travel to Tallahassee Monday through Friday before and after school and then again on Saturday morning to swim with the Area Tallahassee Aquatic Club.

"These boys have been getting up at 4:30 a.m. six days a week to drive to Tallahassee to practice," said John Brannon, the father of Jackson Brannon. "They return to Tallahassee for afternoon swimming. They both routinely beat college scholarship swimmers already, but they are always anxious to improve and swim faster."

"Our schedule changes whether it's winter or summer training and whether we have a big meet we are preparing for," said Hinson. "Our average though is 2 to 3 miles in the morning, 4 to 5 in the afternoon and an average total of 6 to 8 miles daily."

Before the swimmers could drive, parents John and Pamela Brannon would take turns chauffeuring to and from practice and school. Likewise, parents Barbara and Lofley Hinson shared driving from Cairo to Tallahassee to Brookwood in Thomasville, then reversing the route after school.

Whenever they compete, the two consistently maintain strong showings.

Hunter Hinson is a High School All American this year, ranked among the fastest 130 male swimmers who also qualify academically. He finished 36^th in the nation in the 100-yard backstroke and 60^th in the 100-yard butterfly competition.

Now in his senior year, Hinson has been a Brookwood student since he was in kindergarten, about the same time he started swimming. He is in his 6^th year with ATAC, and takes pride in his training under Coach Terry Maul, who has developed numerous Olympic Trial qualifiers, Senior National finalists, and Junior National champions as well as several USS age group champions.

In the summer of 2008, when he was 16, Hinson was ranked 8^th in the nation in his competitive class. He has competed in meets from Ft. Lauderdale to Atlanta to Seattle's USA Junior Nationals, along the way learning from watching and meeting the country's best competitive swimmers. Among other big-name athletes he's encountered are gold-medal Olympic swimmers Brenden Hansen and Ryan Lochte.

In September, Hinson competed in a swim meet in Daytona Beach.

"I swam a total of eight events and took first place in all of them," he says. Hinson adds as a matter of fact, "I also won the Men's 15 and Up age group division as well."

The USA Junior Nationals take place in Ohio in December. Hinson will be there with four of his ATAC teammates, competing against clubs from across the nation.

Both Hinson and Brannon hope to compete in the Junior Nationals next summer.

Meanwhile, Hinson is looking at colleges, and several colleges are seriously looking at him as a swimming scholarship candidate. He plans to major in physical therapy for his higher education. Along the way, he just might make it to the Olympic trials, and maybe even further.

"Jackson is a junior, taking two AP classes," said Brannon's dad. In addition, the 16-year-old, who originally enrolled at Brookwood when he was in kindergarten, is on the debate team and is among the top scholars in his class, so he has other demands on his time besides swimming.

Unlike their classmates who participate in football, basketball, baseball and other team sports, Hinson and Brannon are involved in a relentless year-round sport with no time off after swim meets and no "down time" between seasons. They're always keeping in shape, preparing for the next meet.

"Out of the entire year, we take off one week for spring break and one week at the end of summer to transition to the fall season of training and practice," said Hinson. "But as much time as we might miss, it takes twice as long to get back in shape."

Sunday is the one day of the week that both boys stay out of the pool.

"Michael Phelps swims on Sundays," said Jackson Brannon. "We don't."

By the time they head to the next GISA State Championships this winter, they'll both have another year of competitive experience and training behind them. So, this duo just might swim away with the first-place trophy over their independent school competition in Georgia.

Hinson and Brannon are hoping other Brookwood students will jump in to join the swim team. Meanwhile, they each have a younger sister at Brookwood - Emmaline Brannon is a 6^th grader and Haley Hinson is in the 7^th grade. Since both girls are also swimmers, a Hinson-Brannon team of two just might become a Brookwood tradition.