Habersham Central senior track and field athlete Scarlett Mayes will close her prep career this week at the GHSA State Championships at Hugh Mills Stadium in Albany.
Mayes is the lone girl from Habersham Central to represent the school. The high jump Region 6-AAAAAA champion has a personal best of 5-2, and will be scheduled to compete on Friday, May 6 at approximately 11:30 a.m.
Despite Mayes being the sole Habersham Lady Raider at state, she knows what to expect in Albany.
“Traveling to Albany the second year in a row as the only female athlete [from Habersham] is tough,” says Mayes. “It definitely feels different not having your teammates there to cheer you on. However, it is such an honor to represent Habersham.”
Mayes has improved since last year’s state championship appearance. As a junior, she finished fourth in the region high jump with a 4-10 and placed ninth in the state meet with an even 5-0. Mayes also finished in the top-five in long jump (third) and pole vault (fourth) in 2015.
“I’m excited to end my high school track career at the state championships!” -Scarlett Mayes
This year, Mayes’ 5-2 PR gave her a region title in the high jump, while she also finished sixth in the region at long jump and eighth in pole vault. Despite finishing lower than the previous year, she’s bested her previous records by a sizeable margin.
“A lot of time, effort, mental strength and physical strength go into my practice,” adds Mayes. “I spend extra time outside of practice doing CrossFit which allows me to continue to get physically stronger.”
The hard work is certainly paying off for the senior, who above all else has set the “bar” high for herself.
“After making it to state last year, I had high expectations for myself this year,” states Mayes. “I’m familiar with the operation of the state track meet so I’m more excited to compete than nervous.”
Even with competing with more excitement than nervousness, Mayes understands the margin of error for her event at state.
“I plan to approach state with a positive mindset,” she says. “When the bar gets to higher heights, I often underestimate myself, which leads to missing the height. Several times this season I have been very close to 5-4, but high jump is very technical and something as small as not running fast enough can lead to a missed attempt.”
This scenario played out in Mayes’ region championship performance, where her final opponent also scored a 5-2, but because Mayes had a 5-0 on the first attempt and her competitor did not, she took the region crown.
One thing is for certain when Mayes competes in her final high school event on Friday; she’ll leave it all out on the track.
“[It’s] bittersweet,” says Mayes, “but I’m excited to end my high school track [career] at the state championships!”
To get live results from Albany at the GHSA State Championships, click here.
