LEAP OF FAITH: Rankin leads Brunswick hopefuls at Track and Field Championships

May 13—Just a sophomore in his first full prep season on the track, Brunswick High's Riyon Rankin is one of the favorites to challenge for a state title this week at the GHSA Track and Field Championships in Carrollton.

But Rankin's leap to high jump stardom has been years in the making. The standout underclassmen has been competing in the event since his cousin got him into the sport at the age of 10.

What kept him in the sport?

"That I was winning," Rankin said matter-of-factly.

Some things don't change.

Rankin has racked up victory after victory at meets this season, including a couple of first-place finishes at both the Region 2-6A and the sectional meets with jumps of 6-feet, 8-inches — a US First-Team performance by MileSplit standards and a Brunswick program record.

It was at Brunswick's first home meet of the season that Rankin first crushed his previous personal best of 6-feet, 4-inches to celebrate his 16th birthday.

"I was happy," Rankin said. "It was on my birthday. It was that birthday bounce."

Even at 6-feet, 4-inches, Rankin likely would have found himself among the top 3 seeds at the state meet as a freshman, but the coronavirus pandemic wiped out the 2020 Track and Field Championships.

The abrupt end of the spring athletic calendar also cost of one of Rankin's teammates/high jump competitors, Izaiah Butler, his first season in the event.

Butler had just discovered his aptitude for the high jump a year ago when COVID hit, ending his junior season after three meets.

"I didn't know high jump was a thing until last year," Butler said. "I got into it, hit like 6-foot-1 on my fifth day of practice, and when we got into an actual meet, I hit 6-2.

"I didn't even know I could do this like this, but I was able to hit it."

Butler went on to play an important role on the Brunswick basketball team's run to the Sweet 16, occasionally jamming on defenders when the situation arose.

A few months later, Butler is still soaring through the air — he's just using a different technique.

"Coming from basketball to high jump, you're not even jumping over a dude, you're jumping over a bar, but it still feels the same way — it's crazy," Butler said. "Then all that hang time you've got until you fall down to the mat. It feels so good, especially when you don't hit (the bar)."

Butler hit his personal best of 6-feet, 4-inches this season, and he qualified for state with a 6-foot jump at sectionals.

Though technically competitors this week, the pair of high-jumping Pirates have pushed each other throughout the season.

"When he wants to try to give up or something, I just let him know, 'Bro, you just hit 6-8; you can't stop here,'" Butler said. "And he does the same thing for me when I feel like I can't hit it."

Aside from Rankin, only Carrollton senior Mike Higgins hit the 6-feet, 8-inches mark at sectionals.

The state champion could be determined by which athlete can push past their personal best in the biggest moment, and that's no problem for Rankin.

"I'm going to try my best to beat it," Rankin said.

The Class 6A boys' high jump is set to begin at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, but it is far from the only event of interest to Pirate nation.

Brunswick has six individuals (Devon Cummings, Nick Gray, Travis Massey, Jamal Meriweather, Rankin and Butler) and two relay teams (composed of Jayden Drayton, Deondrey Mangram, Terry Mitchell, Daron Monroe, NaVerious Williams and Jashawn Wilson) competing in Carrollton through Saturday.

Three Pirate individuals (Makaila Brown, Akeelah Bryan and Shamya Flanders) will compete in the girls' competition as well with D'Liyah Austell, Tamaya Elkins, Kalyn Harris, Aleesha Hobbs, Hannah Holliman, Shanyece Quick, Klarke Richardson, Shanya Smiley and Kalies Thomas filling out a pair of relay teams.