All season long we've been voting on the breakthrough of the week, so now it's time to decide on the top breakthrough of the year. We've collected the winners from each week along with the top 3 from last week's state meet poll and whoever wins this vote will be the breakthrough performance of the year for the 2026 season. Remember, Breakthrough of the Week is meant to highlight performances of athletes who achieved big improvements and stepped things up to a new level.
Voting will close on Friday, June 5th, at 5pm.
Here's the lineup for the final vote of the year:
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) 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.
Week 7: 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.
Week 8: Azaria Lee (Heritage) ran 15.50 in the 100m hurdles at the McEachern Invitational, improving from her previous best of 16.27 set in April 2026. The junior ranks #133 in Georgia and #33 among juniors after placing 7th of 16 competitors. Lee also set a PR in the triple jump, improving from 35-2.5 to 36-1 at the same meet.
Week 9: Sophie Morris (Pope High School) ran 12:14.51 in the 3200 meters at Walton Post-Spring Break Rust Buster on April 15, improving from 12:22.29. The time places her 146th in Georgia and 43rd among juniors, winning the event with six competitors.
Week 10: Gwyneth Ferguson (North Atlanta) ran 11:29.44 in the 3200 meters at GHSA 6A Region 6 on April 20, improving by 16 seconds from her previous mark of 11:45.54. The junior ranks 43rd in the state and ninth in her class after placing third in a field of 16. Ferguson also recorded a personal best in the 1600 meters with 5:17.25, improving from 5:21.39.
Week 11: Samantha Haney (Loganville) ran 5:22.66 to place sixth in the 1600 meters at the GHSA 5A Sectional, improving from 5:30.23. The sophomore's time set a school record and ranks 96th statewide and 25th among sophomores. Haney also posted a personal best of 2:23.66 in the 800 meters, improving from 2:29.46.
Week 12: Hannah Mustard (North Oconee) threw 146-7 in the discus, improving from 141-6. The mark broke the North Oconee school record and ranks #5 in the state and #2 among sophomores. Mustard finished 3rd of 121 competitors.
Week 12: Enea Kujath (Oconee County) ran 13.98 in the 100m hurdles, improving from her previous best of 14.69 set in May 2026. The mark broke the Oconee County school record and ranks #10 in Georgia and #6 among juniors. Kujath finished 7th of 122 competitors and also set personal bests in discus (136-0, previous 132-7) and shot put (39-8.5, previous 38-3).
Week 12: Kennedy Williams (Cambridge) ran 11.97 in the 100 meters, improving from her previous best of 12.31. The mark set a Cambridge school record and ranks #41 in the state and #12 among juniors. Williams finished 18th of 120 competitors and also ran a personal best 24.71 in the 200 meters, improving from 24.86.
All season long we've been voting on the breakthrough of the week, so now it's time to decide on the top breakthrough of the year. We've collected the winners from each week along with the top 3 from last week's state meet poll and whoever wins this vote will be the breakthrough performance of the year for the 2026 season. Remember, Breakthrough of the Week is meant to highlight performances of athletes who achieved big improvements and stepped things up to a new level.
Voting will close on Friday, June 5th, at 5pm.
Here's the lineup for the final vote of the year:
