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Wilkins clearing hurdles en route to SEHS track records
Syraiah Wilkins
South Effingham's sophomore hurdler Syraiah Wilkins, shown here at the March 26 meet at Savannah Country Day, broke school track records last week in five events (400 run, 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles and the 4 X 100 and 4 X 200 relays). (Donald Heath for the Effingham Herald.)
Published: Apr 2, 2025, 7:04 PM

By Donald Heath

Special for the Effingham Herald


SAVANNAH – Halfway through her second track and field season at South Effingham, Syraiah Wilkins already has half of the school’s track records.

It was quite a week for the sophomore, who broke the school record in the 400-meter run with a time of 1:00.35 at Savannah Country Day on Wednesday.

Two days later in Fitzgerald, she topped her own school records in both the 100 and 300 hurdles with times of 14.69 and 45.59 respectively, then teamed with Madison Mills, Zoe Robinson and Marquavia Williams to set new Mustang marks in the 4 X 100 relay (49.29) and 4 X 200 relay (1:45.65) at the Colony Bank Invitational.

“(Competing on the track) is the best. I like all of (the running events) equally,” said Wilkins, between races at SCD in Savannah. “I’m ready to break more records. I’d like to do this as a profession. I want to be in the Olympics.”

It’s a lofty goal but Wilkins hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down after starting track in the eighth grade.

While practicing the triple jump, Wilkins said her middle school coach noticed she might be better suited for another event.

“The coach came over and said, “You can really jump high.” I said, “Thank you,” He said, “Do you mind going over there by the hurdles?”

“I jumped a couple of hurdles and I became a hurdler,”  said Wilkins, recalling her innocent introduction to the hurdles.

She’s now among the best hurdlers in the state. And she’s the fastest sprinter on the team, also claiming the school’s 200-meter record (25.55) earlier this month.

Wilkins is also .05 of a second behind Alex Brown’s 2021 school 100-meter record of 12.36.

“I’ve coached a lot of people. I’m not saying Syraiah’s the best but she’s the most proactive as far as wanting to be in different races,” Mustangs’ coach Rico Campbell said. “She’s the ultimate goalsetter. A lot of hurdlers do (the 100 and 400 in a meet) to train, but she’s doing it as an event. She always wants to get past what she did the last time.”

Buoyed by successful track seasons as an eighth grader and ninth grader, Wilkins took her training to another level. She joined the Coastal Georgia Track Team, based out of Richmond Hill, and began structured year round workouts.

Last summer, she attended a summer camp at Florida State University. Earlier in the month, she competed in an indoor meet in Boston.

“Syraiah’s self motivated, anyone could coach her,” Campbell said. “She’s gotten stronger and faster than last year. There’s no telling what she’s going to keep doing.”

Campbell said Wilkins will most likely compete in the two hurdles and two relay races for optimum success at state. Athletes can only compete in four events at a meet.

But she’s versatile and by mixing her entries at different meets this season, Wilkins has six school records in the 12 running events. She laughs when thinking about increasing her resume by branching out to the field events. Maybe the high jump?

“That’s on my list. That and the long jump,” Wilkins said.

Here are South Effingham’s point scorers at the Colony Bank Invitational in Fitzgerald last Friday.

The boys’ 4 X 200 relay team of Hayden Lloyd, Jeremiah Chance, Josh Brooks and Jayden Hair also broke a school record with a time of 1:31.72.


SEHS girls – Marquavia Williams (100, 12.61, 3rd; 200, 26.54, 2nd), Zoe Robinson (100, 12.69, 4th; 200, 26.83, 3rd), Olivia Johnson (400, 1:06.11, 2nd), Lydia Alderman (800, 2:24.54, 1st; 1600, 5:32.06, 1st), Rebecca Long (800, 2:51.22, 2nd; 1600, 5:58.25, 3rd; 3200, 13:33.48, 2nd), Natalia Melegari (800, 3:02.45, 3rd; 1600, 5:51.73, 2nd; 3200, 12:53.96, 1st), Syraiah Wilkins (100H, 14.69, 1st; 300H, 45.59, 1st), 4 X 100 (49.29, 1st), 4 X 200 (1:45.65, 1st), 4 X 800 (11:59.32, 1st), Justine Nevels (HJ, 5-2, 1st), Kymberlea Coppin (HJ, 5-0, 2nd), Madison Mills (LJ, 16-0, 2nd; TJ, 31-1.25, 2nd), Makenzi Polk (LJ, 15-4, 3rd; TJ, 38-8, 1st), Allie Grassi (Pole, 8-6, 1st), Carmen Neidlinger (Pole, 6-6, 2nd), Danni Lynn (Discus, 102-2.5, 1st; Shot, 36-10, 1st), Brooklynn Hughes (Discus, 91-5, 2nd; Shot, 33-6, 2nd), Cheniyah Jackson (Discus, 77-4.5, 3rd), Jenna Hotz (Shot, 28-8, 4th).


SEHS boys – Jayden Hair (100, 11.01, 1st; 200, 22.69, 4th), Jeremiah Chance (100, 11.37, 5th; 200, 22.82, 5th), Josh Brooks (100, 11.96, 6th; 200, 23.50, 6th), Hayden Still (400, 53.06, 3rd), Kaiden Harris (400, 58.60, 6th), Nathaniel West (800, 2:10.86, 1st), Adyn Easton (1600, 4:46.24, 1st; 3200, 11:02.63, 1st), Ben Fluegel (1600, 4:52.43, 2nd), Damien Washington (110H, 16.09, 1st,), Marcus Campbell (300H, 46.52, 3rd; Pole, 10-0, 1st), 4 X 100 (42.28, 1st), 4 X 200 (1:31.72, 1st), 4 X 800 (9:05.21, 1st), Harrison Crofts (HJ, 6-4, 1st; TJ, 41-7, 1st), Hayden Lloyd (LJ, 19-0, 4th; TJ 40-7, 3rd), Tyler Long (Pole, 9-0, 2nd), Gage Roberson (Discus, 104-8.5, 3rd), Tyler Rewis (Shot, 31-6, 8th).