Nyla Thomas winning the 800m at Patriots Early Bird
Unsung Heroes Week 2: Life in the Fast Lane
The 2023 track & field season has officially kicked into gear. Last week saw a good mix of large invitationals and smaller, but still competitive, weekday meets. It might take another few weeks for athletes to compete in all of the events in which they will attempt to qualify for the state meet, but there is certainly a lot to go on three weeks into the season. All of this week's Unsung Heroes come from the mid-size classifications in 3A, 4A, and 5A, and all have shown that they are seriously great athletes by ranking in the top five in their respective classifications. To make this achievement even more notable, none of these athletes have scored a point in the state meet before! (Unless I accidentally missed something).
"Unsung Heroes" recognizes some great individual performances from this past week across the state of Georgia that might have flown under the radar or gone underappreciated. One winner is selected from each of five categories (sprints, hurdles, distance, jumps, and throwing events) for both boys and girls. Enjoy!
Girls Winners
Sprints
59.82 in 400m at Game Changers Alley Invite, 1st
We begin this week by awarding one of the week's most impressive freshman athletes. Ivey Hall of Herschel V. Jenkins High had proved that she would be a challenger this season with five sub-60 performances in the 400m as an eighth grader, and she continued her quick running in her first outdoor race of high school. Most impressive, though, was how quick Hall ran despite being in the slowest heat at the Game Changers Alley Invite, winning her heat by 12 seconds. She ended up ahead of everyone in the three faster heats as well. Look out for Hall to be much faster in her next race against stronger competition.
Hurdles
51.50 in 300m hurdles at Shiloh Mid-Week Battle, 4th
5' 0" in High Jump at Shiloh Mid-Week Battle, 1st
Miller Grove had one of the more remarkable single-event performances at the Shiloh Mid-Week Battle against some good competition. In the 300m hurdles, four Miller Grove girls finished below 53.2 seconds, giving Miller Grove four of the top 10 times in 4A so far this year. Adams was the second finisher of that group, and none of the four are seniors. Three out of these four athletes, including Adams, set a PR. Adams's time was nearly a full second ahead of her best time from last season and slots her in fourth in all of 4A so far this year in the event. She also showed out in her main event at the high jump, sharing first place with teammate Taniyah Scott.
Distance
2:30.7 in 800m at Patriots Early Bird Invitational, 1st
Like I mentioned in the 3A season preview article, Wesleyan has some incredible depth in the distance track events. So far, they have posted five girls in the top eight spots in the 800m in 3A. However, only a maximum of three will be able to compete at state, which opens the door to athletes from other schools. Nyla Thomas could be poised for a breakout sophomore season. As a freshman, she improved her PR from 2:50 to 2:37 throughout the season, and she's opened up this spring with two straight PRs, the latest a big win at the Patriots Early Bird Invitational. Since Thomas's 800m time is now only four seconds behind first place in 3A, she could contend for the win if she keeps going on this trajectory.
Throws
35' 0" in Shot Put at FleetFeet Atlanta All-Comers Series #2, 1st
112' 8.5" in Discus at FleetFeet Atlanta All-Comers Series #2, 1st
Tucker High School has become an early-season powerhouse in the throwing events so far this year, with junior Kristan Simmons and senior Katelyn Mendoza performing admirably in February. Mendoza qualified for the 6A state meet in both the discus and shot put last season and has set personal bests in both events already this year. It's Simmons, however, who wins the Unsung Heroes award this week with a sweep at the FleetFeet Atlanta All-Comers meet at Parkview last Thursday. Simmons set a new personal best in the shot put by over a foot at the meet, and her 112' 8.5" performance in the discus ranks her just ahead of Mendoza as the top athlete in 5A so far this season. If Simmons and Mendoza keep improving, they could help lift Tucker to among the top overall teams in 5A.
Jumps
Kirsten Williams, Wayne County
5' 1" in High Jump at Inaugural Helen Willis Fluker Invitational, 1st
2:50.2 in 800m at Inaugural Helen Willis Fluker Invitational, 4th
Kirsten Williams has been a leader in the jumps for Wayne County since her sophomore season two years ago. Last season, she qualified for the sectional meet, but this year she'll be looking for more. Her 2023 campaign got off to a great start at the Helen Willis Fluker Invitational held at her home track, and she got a chance to set herself apart from many athletes by clearing 5' 1" instead of the more common 5' 0". Her height ranks third in 5A so far, but there will undoubtedly be a high level of competition in 5A as the season progresses, so that should push Williams to new heights.
Boys Winners
Sprints
10.94 in 100m at Patriots Early Bird Invitational, 2nd
21.99 in 200m at Patriots Early Bird Invitational, 2nd
Who's that on top of the sprinting leaderboards in 3A at the end of February? C.J. Wilburn ranked as the 10th-fastest returner in the 200m and the 19th-fastest in the 100m based on 2022 times. However, he's definitely exceeded expectations at the beginning of his sophomore campaign. His 21.99 in the 200m ranked only behind last week's Unsung Hero Maurice Gleaton (a 6A athlete) at the Patriots Early Bird Invitational, and his 10.94 sets him up favorably against some of the top sprinters in 3A.
Hurdles
41.17 in 300m hurdles at Cartersville High School Purple Hurricane Invitational, 1st
16.40 in 110m hurdles at Cartersville High School Purple Hurricane Invitational, 4th
5' 6" in high jump at Cartersville High School Purple Hurricane Invitational, 5th
Zachary Wiggins came about as close as possible to qualifying to the state meet in the 300-meter hurdles last season, finishing ninth in a sectional that included Isaiah and Xzaviah Taylor. This year, Wiggins is intent on proving unquestionably that he belongs with the best in 5A. His season-opening time of 41.17 is a full second better than that sectional time from last year, which he comfortably won against a pretty good field at the Purple Hurricane Invitational. Wiggins also won his heat in the 110m hurdles as well with another PR. To cap it all off, Wiggins set a third personal best of the day in the high jump. The high jump/hurdle combination has some good representation this week!
Distance
2:02.9 in 800m at Archer Invitational, 7th
The 800 is one of the most difficult events in track and field because it combines sprint speed with some serious endurance. It's always interesting to see runners who usually run the 400m or 1600m competing against each other on equal terms in this event. Cole has a history of racing the 400, but he also competes in cross country, so he is well-versed in both aspects that are necessary to run a great 800. His 2:02 is a good 10 seconds better than his February time from last season, which ultimately ended up at 2:03. It will likely take a 2:00 or better to score at the 4A state meet, but Cole is well-positioned to get there by May.
Throws
Cameron Moore, Maynard Jackson
145' 8" in Discus Throw at FleetFeet Atlanta All-Comers Series #2, 1st
45' 4" in Shot Put at FleetFeet Atlanta All-Comers Series #2, 2nd
Cameron Moore is one of the top junior throwers in the state. That is extremely impressive given where he began last season, as he didn't crack 37' in the shot put or 100' in the discus until mid-March in 2022. Moore now ranks second in 5A so far with a discus throw of 145' 8", which topped a very competitive field where eight athletes threw past 120 feet. His 45' 4" shot put also set a personal best and finished in second place. The sky seems to be the limit for this athlete, and he proves that Maynard Jackson's boys' team might be a force to be reckoned with along with their girls' team.
Jumps
20' 5" in Long Jump at North Oconee FAT All-Comers Meet, 3rd
11.29 in 100m at North Oconee FAT All-Comers Meet, 1st
Have you Heard about what happened at the North Oconee All-Comers meet last Saturday? This meet really was an "all-comers" meet, as there were 181 athletes (not a typo) participating in the boys' 100m, and similarly ridiculous numbers for other events. The athlete who beat all 180 of his competition in the 100m was Jesan Heard, an Oconee County senior who ran his fastest 100m in two years. More impressive, though, was Heard's long jump, the first in this event recorded on MileSplit. In this event, he finished third out of 40 competitors, immediately ranking in the top five in 3A. Oconee County will surely welcome any points they can get outside of the distance events, and Heard could provide a good haul across the long jump and 100m.