One of SC’s best ever, Jamison, will join the Gamecocks a year early
WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. (BVM) — She’s humble, she’s soft spoken and she keeps it simple; those are always the most dangerous ones. Jayla Jamison of Airport High School is a certified superstar, but you would never guess it. That is, until you see her go to work on the track.
The Gatorade South Carolina Girls Track and Field Player of the Year has concluded her prep career as one of the all-time greats. No matter the event or the competition, it’s safe to assume Jamison is going to win. To preface the fact that this is not a typo, the 5-foot-7 freak of nature is a 12-time state champion and has been named the South Carolina Coaches Association for Women Sports AAAA Female Athlete of the Year four times, and she’s not even a senior.
This type of dominance was a long time coming.
“When I was 7 years old on the track I was beating all the high school girls. When we were practicing, I was beating them,” Jamison said. “My parents and coaches were like, ‘yeah, she’s going to be good.’”
Good was an understatement. This year, her senior season, marked the third consecutive year she swept the 100-, 200- and 400m dash events, as well as the long jump at the Class AAAA state championships. She is just one of two female athletes in the nation to have her scores rank in the top 65 nationally for the 100, 200, 400 and long jump.
The winning has become a regularity, so much so, that one wonders if Jamison continues to celebrate each victory. Of course, being the competitor she is, Jamison finds a way to make sure to appreciate each one.
“I’m just blessed,” Jamison said. “There’s always somebody out there that can beat you, somebody that is working as hard as you, so when you are able to win that many events it’s just a blessing.”
And like anybody else, despite being built differently than most, the future South Carolina Gamecock has those days where she doesn’t want to train, where she feels burnt out and in need of a break. But her support system keeps her going.
“My mom, she keeps me motivated, my coaches, they motivate me,” Jamison said. “‘Jayla get up, Jayla do this, Jayla do that.’ It’s hard because some days you don’t want to get out there, you don’t want to do that, but when you get that big old support and motivation it’s easy.”
Now more than ever, that motivation is constant. In February, Columbia-area track coaching legend Bennie Isaac passed away. Not only was he one of Jamison’s close mentors, but he was also a coach for Jamison’s mother. Without Isaac’s ties to the family, Jamison wouldn’t be the athlete she is now.
“He inspired me to do a lot of things and he believed I could do a lot of things,” Jamison said. “I’m very grateful I got to have that experience in my life.”
Certainly, staying close to home and joining the South Carolina Gamecocks this fall will make Isaac proud. Fortunately, Jamison, who is a self-pronounced homebody, will have the opportunity to find success in her own backyard. The Gamecocks’ women track and field teams placed top 20 nationally at both the indoor and outdoors meets this season and they sent two of their current athletes to this year’s Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
And to put the cherry on top, Jamison’s brother, Patrick, ran track at USC for a season. After spending three seasons at USC-Upstate, he transferred to join the Gamecocks for his senior year. His familiarity with the program will help Jayla transition to the next level smoothly.
“He tells me, ‘you won’t be able to do that there,’ or, ‘they’ll be doing this and that,’” Jayla said. “It’s always good to hear his advice.”
Though Jayla is just a junior and will therefore be entering college a year early, she’s always been ahead of the curve. This will just keep her on a fast-tracked pace towards bigger and better things.
