By Donald Heath
Special for the Effingham Herald
GUYTON – Up, up and away. Aubrey Edge changed her grip and vaulted to a South Effingham girls record 10 feet in the pole vault on Monday, March 25.
Harrison Crofts’ attention to technique paid off with a school record-tying high jump of 6-feet-6 the same day.
Justine Nevels says technique helped her equal the girls high jump mark at 5-6 earlier in the month.
What a March for the Mustangs track and field teams. Eight individual records were broken or tied. Four relay marks were set.
“I think we’ve had someone break a record every meet this year,” SEHS coach Rico Campbell said. “The kids have been working hard.”
Edge, a senior, vaulted to 9-9 as a sophomore and placed seventh at state, but rising to 10 feet was like Ahab’s pursuit of the white whale.
Then at Richmond Hill, where she first topped nine feet, she rose to double-digit pole vaulter on her second try at the Game Changers Apex Invite.
“That’s something I had been shooting for, for two years so it’s a weight off my chest,” said Edge, who competed on the Mustang competition and game day cheer teams and will attend the University of Oregon for acrobatics and tumbling.
She started in track as a sprinter, but was equally drawn to pole vaulting.
“I remember looking over at the pole vaulters and thinking, ‘That looks cool. I’m a gymnast and I like being in the air. That’s right up my alley’,” Edge said. “I tried it and was pretty good and now here I am.”
“I told coach put me wherever you need me and I started high jumping. I knew (SEHS jump coach Heywood) Ellison and I learned some technique,” Crofts said.
Crofts never jumped higher than 5-6 as a freshman or sophomore but everything seemed to click this season. He started this season jumping 6-2 at the Alley Invitational, then 6-4 at Mustang Madness. He plateaued a bit before jumping 6-6 at Richmond Hill’s Apex Invite, tying the school record set by Stephen Kraeling in 2019 and Justice Mydell in 2023.
“I don’t know what happened. I guess the practice started to pay off,” said Crofts, who has jumped 6-8 during workouts.
Nevels has been part of a talented freshmen class which includes Brooke Crickard (the school’s 800-meter run record holder at 2:17.33 set at the Bob Hayes Invitational on March 16) and Danni Lynn (the school’s discus record holder with a toss of 111 feet, 10 inches at Brunswick’s Big Play Slay Invitational last Friday).
Nevels, who plays softball and basketball, had never high jumped before.
“I started (track) in seventh grade and did sprints and hurdles, but this year I’m only doing the high jump,” Nevels said. “I kind of had hops already, but the technique wasn’t there, but it got better.”
Nevels cleared 4-10 in her first two meets, but then flew to 5-6 at the Rebel Invitational on March 14. That mark tied the 2023 record set by Riley Browne, who now jumps at Georgia Southern.
Nevels said she’s jumped 5-8 in practice.
“Justine could go 5-10, 6 feet if she keeps at it,” Campbell said. “Harrison has grown a lot and gotten stronger from football (as a lineman). There’s no telling how high both of them can get.”
South’s other individual record setters this season came at the Rebel Invitational on March 14. Christeon Lewis turned in a 15.53 in the girls 100 hurdles. Kenny Carlton’s 15.66 in the 110 hurdles and 41.41 in the 300 hurdles are new marks on the boys all-time list.
South will host its second meet of the season – the South Effingham Invitational – on April 9. The region meet will be held at Grovetown High on April 23. The top four at region advance to Sectionals on May 4 at Mundy’s Mill High School in Fayetteville and the top eight at Sectionals advance to the Class 6A state championships in Rome, Georgia, May 9-11.
