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Local track athletes make the jump to state
Harrison Crofts
South Effingham high jumper Harrison Crofts prepares mentally for a jump during Mustang Madness on March 7. The senior holds the school record with a jump of 6 feet, 10 inches and will be among the athletes with high hopes at the Class 5A track and field state championship on Friday in Rome, Georgia. (Donald Heath for the Effingham Herald.)

By Donald Heath

Special for the Effingham Herald


Three of the four South Effingham track and field athletes headed to the Class 5A state championships in Rome on Friday are high jumpers with chances to win. A coincidence?

Mustangs coach Rico Campbell doesn’t think so and points to physical and athletic tangible attributes of Harrison Crofts, Justine Nevels and Kymberlea Coppin.

And another edge – the direction of jump coach Haywood Ellison.

“They’re all tall and can jump and they’re learning technique from Coach Ellison,” Campbell said. “They’ve been consistent in their workouts.”

Campbell had another theory about the high jump dominance. South often practices with its middle school track athletes. Crofts learned while working out with then-established standouts Cameron Edwards and Justice Mydell.

Nevels and Coppin learned from Mustang record holder Riley Browne, who now jumps at Georgia Southern.

“We’ve had some good athletes and I think they’ve thrived off each other,” Campbell said.

The high jump event was the high point for local athletes during Saturday afternoon at Sectional A (Region 1, 4, 7 and 8) at Greenbrier High School.

Crofts, who has the school high jump record at 6-10, cleared 6-2 and didn’t have to attempt another jump to tie two others for first place. The competition stopped after eight jumpers qualified for state.

In the girls’ meet, Nevels and Effingham County’s Braylin Nease cleared 5-0 and were done for the day as first-place finishers.

Nease holds the Rebels’ record at 5-4.

Coppin also made 5-0 but missed an earlier jump to earn fourth.

SEHS’ Danni Lynn was the only other local athlete advancing after placing sixth in the discus with a toss of 110-6.

There were several near misses. Sophomore Syraiah Wilkins, who suffered a leg injury at region, returned to anchor the Mustangs girls’ 4 X 200 relay team. The quartet – Madison Mills, Zoe Robinson, Marquavia Williams and Wilkins – set a school record with a time of 1:44.47 but failed to qualify for state after getting edged by Apalachee by .55 of a second to place ninth.

In the field events, Makenzi Polk finished 15th in the triple jump with a 33-2. Allie Grassi cleared 7-6 in the pole vault to finish 12th and Marcus Campbell, who set the school record at 11-6 a week earlier at region, missed all three of his initial jumps.

South’s long distance runners also had a long day. The boys’ 4 X 800 relay team of Nathaniel West, Hayden Still, Adyn Easton and Ben Fluegel posted a time of 8:31.36 for 10th place.

Easton was 16th in the 3200 with a time of 10:37.45.

“All in all, it was a good season for those who didn’t make (state),” Campbell said. “We competed in a very good region.”

For ECHS, Chloe Adkins posted a personal-best 5:20.77 in the 1600, second best in school history, but placed 12th at Sectionals. Her 11:52.04 in the 3200 was 11th.

Jada Praylo ran a 1:00.96 in the 400 and finished 11th.

The Rebels 4 X 100 relay team of Cory Dekle, Devaughn Jones, Dakarai Walker and Jaden Praylo had a season-best time of 43.24 and took 12th.

Joseph Esco, the school record holder in the 1600, finished 13th with a time of 4:44.86.