With his parents Kurt and Charlotte alongside, Thomasville High School senior swimmer Lewis Stringfellow signs a letter of intent Tuesday with South Georgia State College.

THOMASVILLE — Right away, Lewis Stringfellow took to the swimming pool. 

Tuesday morning, he led him to sign a letter of intent with South Georgia State College. 

The Thomasville High School senior, who set four school records along the way, got an early start in the water. 

“I started when I was 5 or 6,” he said. 

His dad, Kurt Stringfellow, now a vice president at Thomas University, was the CEO of a YMCA and brought him to the YMCA pool.

“He said it might be something I want to try out,” the younger Stringfellow said. “It kind of started from there.”

It’s led to practices from 2:40-4:30 every afternoon from Monday through Friday, plus early morning swims from 5:30-6:30 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

On top of that, it’s three-and-a-half hours on Saturday mornings in the pool, practicing and training. 

“Yeah, I stay at the pool,” Stringfellow said.

Stringfellow made the state Class A-5A finals in two events this year, making the top eight in the backstroke and top 15 in the freestyle. He is a sprinter, specializing in races such as the 50 and 100 free and the 100 backstroke. 

Tuesday’s signing ceremony lifted a weight off his shoulders, Stringfellow acknowledged.

“A few years ago, I never thought I’d be swimming in college,” he said.