By Donald Heath
Special for the Effingham Herald
GUYTON – It was a festive afternoon, Dec. 14, “celebrating one of the most exciting things we do at South Effingham High School,” according to Mustangs athletic director Justin Merritt.
The school cafeteria became the venue of a fall signing day party for four girls making the leap to college athletics.
Emma Darrow (Georgia Highlands College), Whitney Thompson (East Georgia State College) and Jaden Burns (Wingate University) will make the transition to play collegiate softball while Aubrey Edge will be headed to the University of Oregon for acrobatics and tumbling.
“In case you’re wondering about the state of women’s athletics at South Effingham, they’re pretty high,” Merritt said, pridefully.
The softball team could be the jewel of girls’ sports at South and Darrow, Thompson and Burns represented one third of a Mustangs’ starting lineup that won 31 games, a region championship and advanced to the Class 6A Elite Eight state tournament in Columbus.
At state, the Mustangs pulled off a stunning 3-0 victory over defending state champion Pope in the opener.
“All three of (the girls), in different ways either physically or mentally, displayed true toughness to get to this level, to contribute like they did,” Mustangs coach Adam Newland said. “It’s an incredible class. It’s not something you get very often and it’s not taken for granted. They’ll be hard to replace but we’re happy about what’s next for them.”
Darrow patiently waited her turn at South, contributing to the varsity team as a pinch runner before getting a chance to start at second base as a junior, then moving to the outfield as a senior. She has also been a catcher.
“I’ll play anywhere they put me,” said Darrow, who hit .333 as a senior batting leadoff. “If I’m on the field, it’s a good day.”
Thompson battled knee problems but rarely missed time as a four-year starter at third base. She hit .356 and tied for the team lead with 34 runs batted in.
“I definitely learned how to take on adversity,” Thompson said. “Not everything is going to go your way. There are going to be situations in life when you have to overcome adversity to grow.”
Burns played catcher and called pitches for South’s extraordinary righthander Bailey Kendziorski, who signed with Boston College earlier this year. Burns hit .352 with seven doubles and three home runs while batting in the middle of the lineup.
“Just my confidence in life, I feel like it’s sprung from sports,” Burns said.
Edge’s backstory could have been a fit with the softball players. She had a gymnastics background but had never cheered before. But her coaches took a chance and Edge became a part of SEHS’ two state championship cheerleading squads.
Edge also competed in track. She had never tried the pole vault before either, but now holds the school record with a vault of 9-feet-9 at the Class 6A state championships in 2022.
“Starting my freshman year, I had no clue what cheerleading was or what went into it,” Edge said. “The coaches took a chance on me and I built from there. I took small steps and it turned into this.”
