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JohnScott Hartness, senior pole vaulter for Franklin County High School was killed last night in a one car accident near his home. His parents Calvin and Lisa Hartness and older brother Seajae Hartness will need your prayers and thoughts as will all of his team mates from this years team and from all the teams over the past few years. JohnScott will be forever in our memories
Rik Moore
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JohnScott was a very nice, polite, quite and humble athlete who let his vaulting speak for him. He will be missed. He was a super young man. Rik Moore is the pole vault coach at Franklin County HS in Georgia, not far from Athens.

I am very sorry to hear that. He vaulted last summer at a meet we hosted at UGA. He seemed like a really great kid.

Keep us posted on how we can send his family our condolences.

rainbowgirl28 wrote:I am very sorry to hear that. He vaulted last summer at a meet we hosted at UGA. He seemed like a really great kid.

Keep us posted on how we can send his family our condolences.

The funeral of Johnscott Hartness is today at:

Littleward Funeral Home
115 State Street
Commerce, GA 30529

The address for his parents and brother is:

Calvin and Lisa Hartness
SeaJae Hartness
6425 Boldsprings Road
Commerce, GA 30530

State champ killed in automobile wreck


The Atlanta Journal and Constitution; 4/20/2004; D. ORLANDO LEDBETTER, Staff


The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

04-20-2004

State champ killed in automobile wreck
BYLINE: D. ORLANDO LEDBETTER, Staff
EDITION: Home
SECTION: Sports

John Scott Hartness, 19, a two-time state champion in the pole vault at Franklin County High, died after losing control of his Camaro on Thursday in Commerce. Hartness, who had the best vault in the state of 15 feet, 6 inches this season, was ranked No. 6 in the nation on Dyestat.com's elite board. His father, Calvin Hartness, is the head boys track coach at North Gwinnett.
John Hartness, who was returning from his girlfriend's house and was a few blocks from his home, lost control while negotiating a curve and ran off the north shoulder of the road.
"His vehicle struck an embankment, overturned two or more times, struck a fence and a tree," said Aaron Church of the Georgia State Patrol. "He was ejected from the vehicle."
The funeral was held Saturday.
"If he's belted and the seat belt works, he walks away," Calvin Hartness said. "I haven't been able to look at the car. I just haven't gotten that far along yet."
Hartness won the Class AAA championship at 14 feet in 2002 and at 14-6 in 2003.

I'm a little late as I haven't been on the message boards in forever, but there were a couple things I wanted to say.

John Scott was the first elite pole vaulter I ever came in contact with when I began learning to vault 3 years ago. What impressed me the most, was that while he knew he was a much better vaulter than myself, he still came over and talked with me when I got frustrated. Not many do that just because anymore and let things happen. Every meet that I saw him at, he was quiet and went about his business, most often winning and making little to no reaction as to say how he was feeling that day went. In other words, he was very smug about his accomplishment and saw no reason to infringe on others. He just did what he was supposed to.

A pole vaulter myself, I believe I can speak for many of us and say that most of us have our times where we get overwhlemed and exemplify this somehow, good or bad. Never John Scott, he came, vaulted, and often conquered.

When the vault core at WCU where I attend school, heard this, we were all devastated. John Scott's older brother Seajay used to vault for us, and most of us had met John Scott at some point in time and new him in some manner. On behalf of the entire vault crew at Western, I'd like to say that John Scott, you will be missed, but never forgotten. I know you inspired me to be better, and it was a priveledge to be able to say you were my competitor, role model at times, and more importantly, a friend. You'll be missed, god Bless