It's time to Vote for the Georgia Track and Field Breakthrough of the Week!
Breakthrough of the Week is meant to highlight performances of athletes who achieved big improvements and stepped things up to a new level.
We will do this once a week and we will have up to 10 nominees for both boys and girls each week
Here's the lineup for this week's vote:
Alexis Isenhour (Brookwood) ran 58.44 in the 400 meters at the Archer Invitational, dropping from her previous personal best of 1:00.96 from March. The time places her #136 in the state and #24 among juniors, finishing 5th in a field of 45. Isenhour also set a personal record in the 800 meters, improving from 2:31.63 to 2:30.37.
Takaiyah Bacon (Vidalia) jumped 18-9 in the long jump at the 24th Annual Derrick Plankenhorn Meet, bettering her previous mark of 17-11. The distance ranks #28 in Georgia and #9 among seniors, and she won the event with 15 competitors. Bacon also recorded a personal best in the triple jump, improving from 38-3 to 38-6.
Evan Wiley (River Ridge) ran 2:15.10 in the 800 meters at the Woodstock Distance Carnival, improving significantly from her previous best of 2:31.65. The time ranks #16 in the state and #1 among freshmen, finishing 2nd in a field of 35 runners.
Jada Batten (Telfair County) ran 14.62 in the 100-meter hurdles at the Hawkinsville Home Meet #3, improving from her previous best of 15.02. The time ranks #47 in Georgia and #14 among seniors, and set a new school record. Batten won the event with 6 competitors.
Avery Trevino (Marietta) ran 11:30.02 in the 3200 meters at the 9th Annual GA Spring Break Showdown, improving from her previous best of 11:44.35 set in March. The time ranks #79 in the state and #18 among juniors, and she won the event with 35 competitors.
Zion Bullard (Lakeside, Evans) ran 25.02 in the 200 meters at Lakeside's Reese Hoffa PRE-SPRING BREAK INVITATIONAL, improving from her previous best of 25.28 set in March. The time ranks #106 in the state and #13 among sophomores, and she won the event with 19 competitors. Bullard also set a personal record in the 400 meters, improving from 56.54 to 56.31.
Voting Closes on Sunday at Midnight!
Note - This is not necessarily the most improved performances of the week, but a way to highlight those that may have had their best performance so far among athletes who should be competitive during the championship season.
Once an Athlete wins, they will no longer be nominated for athlete of the week. We will keep a running tally of each week's winner and then after the season have a final vote for athlete of the year.
Past Winners
Week 1: Piper Atwood - Parkview - Improved her PR from 10-0 to 11-1 to win All Comers Series #1
Week 2: Lauren Johnson - Woodward Academy - Improved her Pr in the discus from 97-11 to 107-10 to break 100 for the first time at Westminster Varsity Home Meet
Week 3: Janelle Taylor (Model) ran 2:21.38 in the 800 meters at the Model Six Lane Spectacular on March 5, improving from 2:27.56 set in May 2025. The junior won among 6 competitors and ranks #78 in Georgia and #14 among juniors.
Week 4: Monica Mathis (Northside Columbus) ran 26.62 in the 200 meters at the Rome Relays on March 14, improving from her previous best of 27.03 set in March 2026. The sophomore finished fourth of 35 competitors and won her heat.
Week 5: Lauren Lauer (Houston County, Warner Robins) ran 11:52.87 in the 3200 meters at the International City Relays on March 18, dropping from her previous time of 12:08.56. Lauer won the event among 16 competitors and ranks #143 in Georgia.
Week 6: Anjali Smith (Northside Columbus) cleared 5-8 in the high jump at Harris County Wednesday Night #2 on March 25, improving from her previous best of 5-2. The mark ranks #4 in Georgia and #1 among freshmen, and set a school record for Northside Columbus. Smith also recorded personal bests in the 200 meters (26.84, down from 26.90) and 300m hurdles (49.32, down from 49.78) at the same meet.