Johnson ties TCHS high jump record
Published 3:06 pm Thursday, February 27, 2025
- Becky Taylor/The Tifton Gazette Jamari Johnson clears the high jump bar at 6-2 during Wednesday's track meet. He kept going after this, ultimately tying Tift's record with at 6-6.
TIFTON — Jamari Johnson made history for Tift County High at Wednesday’s first home track event this season.
Johnson cleared 6-6 in the high jump, tying the Blue Devils’ record. He attempted 6-7 but missed on three attempts, but head coach J.C. Clark was confident the record would fall; Johnson has hit 6-8 in practice.
High jump was a stiff competition, with Johnson vying against Colquitt County’s Ja’Shar Kinsey. The field trimmed to those two at the 5-10 level. Both sailed over 6 feet, 6-2 and 6-4 with ease. Kinsey faulted on all three 6-6 attempts. Johnson cleared on his first try.
With Johnson as the last man standing, Clark got on a microphone to announce he was going for a new Blue Devils record. It didn’t happen Wednesday, but he will have many more chances this year, including at Tift’s Anthony Bateman Invitational March 8.
The mark Johnson tied was previously set by Azaria Smith in March 2020, Tift’s last sporting event of the 2019-20 school year before all athletics were canceled because of Covid-19.
Becky Taylor/The Tifton Gazette
Aziyah Lockett makes it over the last obstacle in the 100-meter hurdles. Lockett was third overall.
Besides Johnson’s heroics, Nairobi Graham had an outstanding day with two wins on the track. Graham won the 100 meters in 12.87 seconds and the 200 in 25.99 seconds. In the latter, Graham was nearly 1.5 seconds faster ahead of second place.
Jordan Gaskins won the 110 hurdles in 15.77 seconds. Diamond Wallace won with ease in long jump. Wallace’s best leap was 17-2. Second place cleared 15-9 and no one else made 15 feet.
Tift’s home meet was a friendly one, with six other schools paying a visit to the mini-stadium. Those included Region 1-6A rivals Colquitt County and Lowndes. Wins were nearly even between the three, indicating a very close competition for the region meet in a few weeks.
Becky Taylor/The Tifton Gazette
Jaxson Hughes earned second in pole vault, with his best being 10-6.
Others figuring into the top five Wednesday:
— Girls 100: Wallace (4th).
— Girls 100 hurdles: Aziyah Lockett (3rd).
— Boys 200: Marshall Howard (3rd).
— Boys 1,600: Henry Anderson (2nd).
— Boys 4×800: 3rd.
— Boys high jump: Jarvis Howard (3rd).
— Boys pole vault: Jaxson Hughes (2nd) and Anthony Pace (5th).
— Boys shot put: Cayden Dawson (5th).
