Mustang, Rebel track standouts qualify for Sectionals

South Effingham's Brooke Crickard won the 800-meter run and led the Mustangs' region-winning 4 X 800 relay team. (Donald Heath for the Effingham Herald.)

South Effingham's Brooke Crickard won the 800-meter run and led the Mustangs' region-winning 4 X 800 relay team. (Donald Heath for the Effingham Herald.)

Published: May 2, 2024, 6:46 PM

By Donald Heath

Special for the Effingham Herald

South Effingham and Effingham County high school athletes are approaching the finish line to the 2024 track and field season.

Region 2-6A boys and girls track and field championships April 24 at Grovetown High School produced the region’s top four in each event to qualify for Sectionals.

The elite of Region 2 will be competing against Regions 3, 6 and 7 in Sectional B at Steele Road Stadium at Morrow High School May 4.

Sectional A will comprise athletes from Regions 1, 4, 5 and 8.

The top eight from each Sectional advance to the Class 6A state track and field championships at Barron Stadium in Rome, Georgia, May 9-11.

“At this time of the year, you want to make sure you’re in the best position to be competitive,” SEHS coach Rico Campbell said.

Nagging injuries could need extra rest and treatment. Mentally, athletes need confidence and determination.

Mustangs and Rebels continued to set school records at region with an eye on the bigger prizes ahead.

ECHS freshman Chloe Adkins has had a sensational spring. At region, she set the school record in the 3200-meter run by lowering her time by almost 20 seconds to post an 11:27.90, about three seconds faster than Candace Kieffer’s previous mark of 11:30.75 in 2022.

Kieffer is now running at the University of Miami.

“It’s been a tremendous progression from Chloe running that first meet at Richmond Hill to running against Glynn Academy at region,” Rebels coach Jordan Brown said. “And she’s doing this as a freshman. Credit our distance coach Anthony Johnson.”

The girls high jump will be an event to watch as freshman Justine Nevels holds SEHS’ record and sophomore Braylin Nease holds ECHS’ record.

At region, they both jumped 5-4 but Nevels was the winner because she scratched just once and Nease scratched twice, Jordan said.

Nevels’ personal best is a 5-6 which is among the best jumps in the state.

South has other young standouts who shined at region. Freshman Brooke Crickard was a winner in the 800 and ran a leg on the region-winning 4 X 800 relay with Lydia Alderman (another freshman), Lily McDonald and Mia Fitzpatrick. The girls’ 10:04.94 in the relay set a school record, 19 seconds ahead of the 2022 mark.

The South girls’ 4 X 200 relay (Aubrey Edge, Christeon Lewis, Madison Mills and Brianna Williams) also bettered the school mark with a time of 1:47.19 at region.

School record setters Edge (pole), Syraiah Wilkins (300 hurdles), Lewis (100 hurdles) and Danni Lynn (discus) and boys’ Harrison Crofts (high jump) and Kenny Carlton (110 hurdles) all qualified for Sectionals, although they did not set school records or win their event at the region meet.

Campbell said he’ll have 30 boys and girls headed to Sectionals.

Thirteen ECHS boys and girls will make the trip to Morrow High in Ellenwood.

Rebel Dakarai Walker will compete in three events – 200, 400 and 4 X 200 relay.

Jordan said Walker has made big strides this season after running AAU track. He has also stepped up to be a leader.

Lewis (100 hurdles, 300 hurdles and 4 X 200 relay) and France (400, long jump and 4 X 400 relay) will compete in three events for the Mustangs.

Teamwise at region, South’s girls finished second behind Grovetown. ECHS was sixth. In the boys’ team scores, South was sixth and ECHS seventh.

Here are the South Effingham and Effingham County qualifiers for Sectionals:

SEHS girls – Zoe Robinson (200, 4th, 27.47), Brooke Crickard (800, 1st, 2:18.02), Lydia Alderman (800, 4th, 2:23.17), Lily McDonald (3200, 3rd, 12:29.0), Olivia Johnson (3200, 4th, 12:36.0), Christeon Lewis (100H, 3rd, 16.17; 300H, 3rd, 48.88), Syraiah Wilkins (300H, 4th, 49.02), 4 X 200 relay (Lewis, Aubrey Edge, Madison Mills, Brianna Williams, 3rd, 1:47.19), 4 X 800 relay (Alderman, Crickard, McDonald, Mia Fitzpatrick, 1st, 10:04.94), Justine Nevels (HJ, 1st, 5-4), Makenzi Polk (TJ, 4th, 33-1), Aubrey Edge (Pole, 2nd, 10-0), Allie Grassi (Pole, 3rd, 8-6), Danni Lynn (Discus, 4th, 95-8; Shot, 4th, 33-7).

SEHS boys – Q’Ron France (400, 4th, 50.19; LJ, 4th, 21-2.25), Kenny Carlton (110H, 4th, 15.81), 4 X 400 relay (Alejandro Higareda, Hayden Still, Carlton, France, 4th, 3:31.70), 4 X 800 relay (Caiden Mason, Nathaniel West, Tyler Phillips, Ben Fluegel, 4th, 8:49.90), Harrison Crofts (HJ, 2nd, 6-2).

ECHS girls –Jada Praylo (400, 3rd, 1:01.74), Chloe Adkins (3200, 1st, 11:27.90), 4 X 100 relay (Kyla Hicklen, Victoria Foskey, Kameryn Watson, Dionna Rivers, 3rd, 50.66), 4 X 400 (Foskey, Praylo, Rivers, Zaria Anderson, 3rd, 4:18.22), Braylin Nease (HJ, 2nd, 5-4), Sarah Hinely (Discus, 3rd, 99-9).

ECHS boys – Dakarai Walker (200, 2nd, 22.43; 400, 2nd, 49.68), 4 X 200 relay (Cory Dekle, Jaden Praylo, Walker, Lamar Roberts, 3rd, 1:29.63).

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Rebels, Mustangs Clash in 32nd Effingham County Rivalry Game

Bragging Rights on the Line Friday at The Corral

J.R. McKenzie of Effingham County and Christian Magwood of South Effingham face off in a rivalry that turns friends into fierce competitors every fall.

Effingham County vs. South Effingham — J.R. McKenzie of Effingham County and Christian Magwood of South Effingham face off in a rivalry that turns friends into fierce competitors every fall.

Donald Heath

Updated: Sep 18, 2025, 5:43 PM

Published: Sep 18, 2025, 5:46 PM

GUYTON, Ga. – The stadium begins to fill before warmups have started. Kickoff is still more than an hour away. Players return to the locker room for final preparations, and the next time they run onto the field, the band is playing, and the stadium is packed.

“It’s cool because you don’t see any silver,” said South Effingham football coach Loren Purvis, referring to the silvery aluminum bleachers now covered with excited football fans in anticipation of the Mustangs’ showdown with Effingham County High School.

A Longstanding Rivalry

Friday night at the Corral, the two schools meet for the 32nd time. The Rebels hold a 19-12 edge in the annual series. Effingham County won 47-0 last season.

“That doesn’t mean anything,” ECHS running back Doe-Davis said. “You can’t overlook them, or they might beat you. You can’t overlook anyone in the region.”

Since 1996, the game between Effingham County and South Effingham has been a natural rivalry that rewards the winner with bragging rights for a year. At one time, ECHS was the only high school in the county. As the rural county grew, a new high school was formed by splitting the district.

Players from the new school donned new uniforms and colors, and the Effingham County–South Effingham matchup became the high school version of the Army-Navy rivalry, swapping Cadets and Midshipmen for Rebels and Mustangs.

Friendship Off the Field, Battle On

“It’s not like that everywhere,” Purvis said. “You don’t always see a town or a county with only two schools. These are the two schools in the county, and the rivalry is rich.”

“I love that the kids are still good friends afterward, but when the ball is kicked off, everything changes. I like (ECHS coach John Ford) a lot, but I want to beat his tail, and I know he wants to beat mine.”

Purvis and Ford experienced rivalries firsthand in their playing days. Purvis played at Irwin County, less than eight miles from rival Fitzgerald. Ford played at Brookwood, six miles from rival Parkview.

“It was a battle every year,” Purvis said.
“It was a heavyweight prize fight every time,” Ford said, recalling losing to Parkview in the second game of the 1996 season before upsetting them in the quarterfinals of the state playoffs en route to a state championship.

Unpredictable but Intense

“(The ECHS-SEHS series) is a spirited rivalry, one of the best in Georgia,” Ford said. “There’s a lot of passion, a lot of intensity. It means a lot to the community.”

During Ford’s five-year coaching stint in Springfield, the Rebels have brought some predictability to the series, winning all five matchups and outscoring the Mustangs by a combined 162-10.

Purvis has also experienced victories in the series. As SEHS’ offensive coordinator in 2019, he helped the Mustangs roll to a 41-27 win over the Rebels.

Both Teams Riding Momentum

For the first time since 2022, the two teams will enter the game on winning streaks. ECHS (2-2, 1-1 in Class 5A Region 1) topped Bradwell Institute 43-35 last Friday. SEHS (1-2, 1-0) snapped a 13-game losing streak by beating Lakeside 20-14 in overtime.

The Mustangs can point to scores against New Hampstead to make a case for a competitive battle with the Rebels this year. South lost 14-6 to the Phoenix in the season opener. ECHS held on for a 23-20 win against New Hampstead two weeks later.

“It gives you some confidence that they barely won it, and we felt like we could have beaten (New Hampstead), so maybe we’re fairly even,” Purvis said. “But I think you can play ‘would’ve, should’ve, could’ve’ with a lot of games.”