By Donald Heath
Special for the Effingham Herald
Winning a state championship is the ultimate goal in track and field, but standing on the podium among the top eight in an event isn’t a bad consolation.
Four South Effingham athletes and one Effingham County runner proudly took their places on the podium last weekend, signifying they were among the best at the Class 6A boys and girls state track and field championships at Barron Stadium in Rome, Georgia.
Mustang freshman Justine Nevels tied New Manchester’s Ashari Pearson for second place with a jump of 5-feet, 2 inches in the high jump for the area’s best finish.
SEHS’ Harrison Crofts had the boys’ best showing with a fourth-place jump of 6-4 in the high jump.
Freshmen Danni Lynn and Brooke Crickard added sixth-place finishes in the discus and 800 run.
Effingham County’s Dakarai Walker was sixth in the 400.
Thirteen athletes represented the county in individual events and one relay at state.
“I felt like we had a great season,” Mustangs coach Rico Campbell said. “We had a lot of freshmen step up. I thought everyone did what they could do.”
ECHS coach Jordan Brown had similar thoughts about his squad.
“The ones who wanted to compete, those kids performed well,” he said. “I’m proud of them.”
And the future looks bright for both schools. Nevels should have extra motivation for next season. She had set a school record with a high jump of 5-6 at the Rebel Invitational on March 14. The winning jump at state was also 5-6.
Crofts had a school record high jump of 6-7 at the South Effingham Invitational on April 9, but now has first-hand knowledge of what it takes to move up at state after seeing the three competitors ahead of him jump 7-0, 7-0 and 6-10.
Lynn’s throw of 119-9 in the discus at state was the third time she broke the school record this season. Her first throw in February was 87-7 at Richmond Hill.
Lynn also placed 13th at state in the shot put with a toss of 33-1.
Crickard’s parting performance at South included a time of 2:17.75 in the 800, .42 of a second off her school record, despite battling sickness last week. Crickard, just a freshman, will be moving away from the school district with her family. She left a legacy as a region champion and a member of the school record-setting 4 X 800 relay team.
At state, Crickard teamed with Lydia Alderman, Mia Fitzpatrick and Lily McDonald to run a 10:03.11 in the relay. Their record was 9:58.63 a week earlier at Sectionals.
For ECHS, Walker, a junior, ran a personal-best 49.59 in the boys’ 400 prelims, then nearly duplicated it with a time of 49.62 in the finals.
“The 400 is an event a lot of (sprinters) don’t want to run. Dakarai made some great strides this season,” Brown said.
South’s pole vault record holder Aubrey Edge just missed getting to the podium after jumping 9-6 and placing ninth. Her school record of 10-0 would have tied the eighth-place finisher at state.
Rebels Chloe Adkins, Braylin Nease and Sarah Hinely and Mustang Zoe Robinson also gave strong performances. Adkins, a freshman who already has the school record in the 3200, placed 13th at state with a time of 11:48.43.
Nease, a sophomore, was 14th at state with a high jump of 4-10. Nease was second to Nevels at region after soaring 5-4.
Hinely produced her personal-best throw of 102-4.5 in the discus to finish 12th.
Robinson, who advanced to state in the 200 after a technical glitch at Sectionals, had a personal-best 26.15 to place 20th in the 24-person field.
Here are the final results for SEHS and ECHS boys and girls at state.
SEHS girls – Zoe Robinson (200, 20th, 26.15), Brooke Crickard (800, 6th, 2:17.75), 4 X 800 relay (Lydia Alderman, Crickard, Lily McDonald, Mia Fitzpatrick, 13th, 10:03.11), Justine Nevels (HJ, 2nd, 5-2), Aubrey Edge (Pole, 9th, 9-6), Danni Lynn (Discus, 6th, 119-9; Shot, 13th, 33-1).
SEHS boys – Harrison Crofts (HJ, 4th, 6-4).
ECHS girls –Chloe Adkins (3200, 13th, 11:48.43), Braylin Nease (HJ, 14th, 4-10), Sarah Hinely (Discus, 12th, 102-4.5).
ECHS boys – Dakarai Walker (400, 6th, 49.62).
