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Talented young swimmer gives Wharton a boost

Freshman Jordan Rees will swim with the Wildcats while continuing to hone his skills with the Tampa Bay Aquatics competitive team.

By TERRY JONES
Published September 1, 2006

NEW TAMPA - Jordan Rees, a 14-year-old freshman, starts his high school swimming career with some impressive credentials.

The Wharton High student was a scoring member of the Tampa Bay Aquatics, a swim team that just won a national championship.

"When I heard he would be attending Wharton for sure and swim with the team, the news was a breath of fresh air," said Wharton boys swimming coach Marcie Scholl. "Some top-caliber swimmers like him bypass high school and just train for their next level."

Under the banner of Tampa Bay Aquatics, 16 of the area's top swimmers together captured the Speedo 18-and-under USA Swimming Junior National Championships in August in Irvine, Calif.

Swimmers from Sickles, Wharton, Jesuit, Tampa Prep and other area high schools were part of the team that took the prestigious national title. More than 1,500 swimmers from around the United States competed.

Of the top 18 teams competing, Jordan was the youngest swimmer to score points. He swam the 50-meter freestyle leg of the 200-meter medley relay. The team took fifth place in that race.

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Jordan isn't the first from his family to swim for the Wharton Wildcats. His brother, Josh, was on the team a few years ago.

"Both boys are very personable and simply a pleasure to be around," Scholl said. "Josh was always bragging on his little brother, and now I can see he wasn't exaggerating. He will continue to train with his club team and help us in meets."

Jordan is a freestyle sprinter, specializing in the 50 and 100 meter events. He can also help with the medley relay and the 200 and 400 meter freestyle relays.

The trip to California with his club team excited him from the start.

"I noticed a difference in the air as soon as we got off the plane in California," he said. "There was no humidity. The air really felt great."

After enjoying the low humidity, he had to face up to a lot of humility.

"Everybody there was faster than me," he said. "Our fastest freestyle swimmer didn't even make it to the finals. Fortunately, our girls did great and the guys made points with some decent relays. Most of our points came in relays."

He said the most exciting thing he experienced at the nationals, in addition to winning the team championship, was watching Brendan Hansen, a hopeful for the 2008 U.S. Olympic team, set new world records in the 100 and 200 breaststroke.

Although Jordan is already making plans and setting goals for his high school career, he'll continue to train with his club team.

"The most noticeable difference to me is the people on the high school team really just have fun," he said.

Scholl seems to have fun coaching the team. She was the first coach at Wharton. With the help of team parents, pasta parties and goodie bags are provided on days of meets. The bags are loaded with snacks and drinks to carry to the meets.

"Primarily, my job is to help Jordan and all the guys on the Wildcats team to reach their potential," she said.

[Last modified August 31, 2006, 10:03:24]