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SEHS’ Crickard dominates the 800 at Rebel Invitational
Brooke Crickard
South Effingham freshman Brooke Crickard (left) takes the baton from Mia Fitzpatrick to run the final leg of the girls 4 X 800 relay race at the Rebel Invitational March 14. Crickard made up a deficit to lead the Mustangs' foursome to a first-place finish. (Donald Heath for the Effingham Herald.)

By Donald Heath

Special for the Effingham Herald

SPRINGFIELD – Track standout Brooke Crickard will be one-and-done at South Effingham this spring, but she’s planning on leaving a legacy.

No, the freshman isn’t foregoing high school to run at the next level. She’ll move with her parents to Tignall, about 45 miles east of Athens, after the school year. Crickard will have fond memories and life-long friendships from her one year at SEHS.

And she also plans on having the school’s 800-meter record.

“I have one at South Effingham Middle School, I’ll have one here and then I’ll have one there,” said Crickard, thinking out loud before running the 800 at the Rebel Invitational on Thursday night.

After her first four high school races, Crickard still remains unbeaten. She’s less than a second away from the Mustangs’ all-time mark in the 800, 2:20.08, set by Pricilla Cartwright in 2016.

Crickard had a personal-best 2:20.85 in her second high school meet – Mustang Madness.

“I try to get out fast so I don’t get boxed in, then settle into my pace,” Crickard said. “Then you find your stride and at the end book it.”

The strategy worked well at the Rebel Invitational. She ran a 2:21.64 and beat the field by nearly 10 seconds.

But she couldn’t beat the timing clock that stared at her the final 100 meters. She didn’t get South’s record – yet.

“(Crickard) is really confident. She performs like she’s been here before and that builds all the other girls’ confidence,” SEHS track coach Rico Campbell said. “They have a little pack there.”

It’s South’s freshmen fillies that includes Syraiah Wilkins, Zoe Robinson, Lydia Alderman, Makenzi Polk, Olivia Johnson, Justine Nevels and Danni Lynn.

As middle schoolers, they won a region title last season. Crickard holds the seventh-grade standard at SEMS in the 400 and 800.

She won the 800 by more than six seconds in the Coastal Empire region meet last season.

Thursday at the Rebel Invitational, Crickard opened the running competition by anchoring the Mustangs’ winning 4 X 800 relay team. It was close before she motored away from the field after taking the baton from teammate Mia Fitzpatrick.

South cruised to victory with a time of 10:36.56 – more than 13 seconds ahead of second-place Richmond Hill

Crickard said the Lord gives her strength and power.

“When I’m taking the baton, I’m thinking, ‘I have to do this for my team, they’re counting on me,’” she said. “Did you think I was going to let (the Richmond Hill’s girls) win?”



Local records under siege

South Effingham’s Kenny Carlton broke the school record in 300-meter hurdles with a time of 41.41 at the Rebel Invitational. Carlton topped his own mark of 41.94 set at the Alley Invitational in Richmond Hill on Feb. 23 …

Nevels tied Riley Browne’s school record in the high jump with a MileSplit Silver performance of 5-6. Browne, now at Georgia Southern, set her mark last year.

In the distance events, SEHS senior Lily McDonald won both the girls’ 1600 and 3200 runs. Tyler Phillips won the boys’ 3200.

Mustang Christeon Lewis was a winner in the 300 hurdles.

And the Effingham County boys ran away with the 4 X 200 relay race.

  

Here are the scorers for Effingham County and South Effingham. 

ECHS girls – Dionna Rivers (100, 8th, 13.43), Jada Praylo (400, 3rd, 1:02.45), Chloe Adkins (1600, 3rd, 5:50.73), 4 X 100 relay (2nd, 51.74), 4 X 200 relay (2nd, 1:49.20), 4 X 400 relay (3rd, 4:39.22), Braylin Nease (HJ, 3rd, 5-0), Kameryn Watson (LJ, 2nd, 15-10.5; TJ, 6th, 31-3.25), Sarah Hinely (Discus, 4th, 81-4.5; Shot, 5th, 29-11).

 

ECHS boys – Lamar Roberts (100, 6th, 11.67), Theron Claridge (1600, 3rd, 4:46.64), Joseph Esco (1600, 8th, 5:06.84), 4 X 100 relay (3rd, 44.24), 4 X 200 relay (1st, 1:32.48), 4 X 400 (2nd, 3:38.68), Cory Dekle (TJ, 5th, 40-4.5), Berry Randolph (Discus, 6th, 112-5).

 

SEHS girls – Syraiah Wilkins (100, 2nd, 12.90; 200, 2nd, 26.46, 400, 5th, 1:04.52,), Zoe Robinson (100, 4th, 12:98; 200, 5th, 26.97; LJ, 6th, 15-1.5), Lily McDonald (1600, 1st, 5:44.50; 3200, 1st, 12:23.51), Brooke Crickard (800, 1st, 2:21.64), Lydia Alderman (800, 2nd, 2:31.24), Mia Fitzpatrick (800, 6th, 2:45.27: Discus, 5th, 81-1), Patrica Backlund (1600, 7th, 6:27.25), Olivia Johnson (3200, 2nd, 12:49.88), Christeon Lewis (100H, 2nd, 15.53; 300H, 1st, 49.96), Valencia Byrd (100H, 7th, 18.00; 300H, 5th, 53.40), 4 X 100 relay (3rd, 51.77), 4 X 200 relay (1st, 1:48.57), 4 X 400 relay (2nd, 4:37.24), 4 X 800 relay (1st, 10:36.56), Justine Nevels (HJ, 1st, 5-6), August Dobbs (HJ, 8th, 4-6), Madison Mills (TJ, 5th, 32-2.5), Makenzi Polk (TJ, 7th, 30-6), Emily Thompson (TJ, 8th, 29-10), Danni Lynn (Discus, 3rd, 91-8; Shot, 2nd, 31-10.5).

 

SEHS boys – Q’Ron France (200, 6th, 23.74; 400, 1st, 51.42; LJ, 2nd, 20-9), Alejandro Higareda (200, 8th, 23.97; 400, 3rd, 52.71), Hayden Still (400, 7th, 54.49), Ben Fluegel (800, 2nd, 2:10.42), Aderius Gibson (800, 3rd, 2:11.53), Quinton Williams (800, 4th, 2:12.12), Caiden Mason (1600, 6th, 4:55.21), Tyler Phillips (3200, 1st, 10:37.28), Caleb White (3200, 4th, 12:26.59), Kenny Carlton (110H, 3rd, 15.66; 300H, 3rd, 41.41), 4 X 100 relay – (8th, 47.96), 4 X 200 relay – (2nd, 1:35.03), 4 X 400 relay – (3rd, 3:40.89), 4 X 800 relay – (3rd, 9:01.91), Harrison Crofts (HJ, 3rd, 6-0), Tanner Hughes (Discus, 3rd, 126-7), Shane Alvin (Discus, 7th, 108-0; Shot, 7th, 38-3).