Raising the bar: Edinburgh’s recent success in athletics

Jordan Burton spent countless afternoons as a child heaving basketballs toward a rusted goal near the cornfield behind his grandfather’s house and fantasized about playing in college.

But despite sprouting quickly to his 6-foot-8 height, Burton always figured that dream was a long shot for any athlete from Edinburgh Community High School.

“I didn’t really know anybody that ever went on to play any (college) sports from Edinburgh,” Burton said. “Coming from a small school that never really had much success before, it’s definitely rough getting colleges’ attention.”

Edinburgh, a Class A school with 280 students, isn’t a recruiting stop for many college coaches, but that could soon change. Over the past four years, the Lancers athletics program experienced unprecedented success by claiming 10 sectional titles and two regional crowns in various sports.

And now eight spring graduates, including Burton, plan to continue their playing careers in college this coming school year.

“With eight of us going on to play at college somewhere, that’s huge,” Burton said. “We feel like we’ve set the groundwork for more colleges to recruit from Edinburgh because of our class.”

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