Gwinnett County track and field teams highlighted at annual media day
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The 2025-2026 Georgia High School Association track and field season has officially gotten underway as this past weekend teams from around the state and metro Atlanta area hit the track in competitive action for the first time this season. On Sunday, Gwinnett County hosted their second annual media, spotlighting all 25 programs in the county as coaches and student athletes spoke about the excitement of getting another season underway.
"We always thought kids being able to have the recognition that they deserve," Archer Tigers coach, Ethan Kasson said on Sunday at the media day event as he explained why coaches throughout the county believed it was important to put together and event which spotlighted the track and field student athletes.
"With track, with the level of athletes that this county is producing now and the coaches that are in this county, the exposure just wasn't there in the past," Kasson continued as he noted Gwinnett County having produced state champions, All-Americans and NCAA signees over the years. "So being able to give them exposure and letting them shine on this stage on a stage like this, that was always kind of the goal," Kasson said.
Among the student athletes on hand Sunday during the media day event Norcross Blue Devils sprinter, Jayson Jones, who kicked off his season setting the 2026 national record in the boy's 200 meter dash with a 20.78 finish on Saturday at the Bima Sports North Atlanta Invitational. "This offseason, I worked on getting more explosive getting out of my blocks, basically trying to get better at the 100 meter and 200 meter," Jones said of areas he worked on in preparation for the season.
The Parkview Panthers also had a record breaker on hand as pole vaulter, Piper Atwood, who set a new school record with an 11.1 mark at the Parkview All Comers meet last Thursday. "One thing I focused on in the offseason was my form," Atwood said as she expressed the "importance" for her to work toward having "good form" for the season. "Training in the offseason has already made such a huge difference, I've already really achieved my goal this season so it's only up from here," Atwood said.
Returning two-time 100 meter and 200 meter dash state champion, Skylar Cunningham of the Greater Atlanta Christian Spartans, was also in attendance and shared why working on her starts as well as "using the blocks how they should be used and staying patient in my race, knowing when to transition and start pushing out better," were important for her as she works towards defending her titles.
"If you check the record books, you'll see, there's a lot of kids out of Gwinnett County representing at the NCAA level, Olympic trials and world championships. A lot of people talk about Florida, Texas and California, I'm here to say Georgia has the best track and field high school student athletes and youth track and field athletes and it's just the beginning," Collins Hill Eagles coach Andre Al-Ghani said.
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