Competing at the Digicel Grand Prix Anthrick Corporate Area Development Meet turned out to be extra special for Excelsior High School’s Rushelle Jones.

The Class One athlete not only won the girls’ high jump Grand Prix event, she established a personal best and record as she removed the previous standard of 1.70 metres with a 1.75-metre performance. She also got a pretty nice reward of a $25,000 academic scholarship from sponsors Digicel for breaking the record.

When Jones scaled the mark at the Usain Bolt/UWI Track last week Thursday, she never did so alone as Camperdown High School’s D’Andra Morris and St Andrew High School for Girls’ Lorean Murray also recorded at that height.

However, Jones won on count back to secure a most pleasing win.

“I am very proud of myself as, for the past few months, I have been putting in the work, and getting it out today I am very proud of myself as it is my personal best,” she said.

“I have to be grateful for everything and my coach, Mr Gavin James, for putting in place a great programme and I am seeing the results.”

That is one more reason for liking her new school.

Jones, who attended Buff Bay Primary, advanced to Buff Bay High, one of the dominant teams at the Eastern Championships, which is one of the five meets forming the 2017 Digicel Grand Prix Athletics Championship.

It was there that her talent was spotted and led to her transfer to Excelsior High.

“It is great and they have a great programme with great coaches, so it is very nice there,” she said of her new school.

The 17-year-old noted that training is not easy, but it has benefits.

“It is very challenging, but we have to work with it and do what we have to do because we need the best out of us,” said Jones, who admitted to setting high standards coming into the Anthrick Corporate Area Development Meet, the third of five in the 2017 Digicel Grand Prix Series.

She said: “Coming into the Digicel Grand Prix I was hoping that I would come out victorious.”

This winning turn has set up Jones for another, as the top two from each event in the Digicel Grand Prix Series move onto the final, the GC Foster Classic, that will be held today at the National Stadium.

The winning overall boys’ and girls’ schools earn $1 million towards their sports development programme, with $500,000 for second and $200,000 apiece for third.

There is also $250,000 for each Digicel Grand Prix champion boy and girl, $100,000 for second, and $50,000 for third.

Top coaches win $50,000, each school gets $5,000 for each athlete it qualifies to the final, and the Most Valuable boy and girl athlete will earn a prize trip to the World Relays in The Bahamas later this year.

Jones has since gone on to place second in the Girls’ Under-18 final at Carifta Trials, clearing 1.70 metres to make the national junior team for the Caribbean spectacle.

Before that regional meet though, Jones will get another chance to scale new heights, at Saturday’s 2017 Digicel Grand Prix Athletics Championships Finals, where she is looking to again make a special mark.

She said: “Just look out for something great and a better jump, which I hope will win.”