Jerry Johnson - Pearl High School 

Leading off in the Miss. High School Boys Performers of the week is the jumps specialist, Jerry Johnson from Pearl High School, who flew into the Miss. #1 spot in the High School Boys Triple Jump.

Johnson leaped to a mark of 45-1, winning the 2022 Rankin County Championships and snagging a lifetime PR in the process.

In the last four years, Johnson has the second farthest jump of all Mississippi High Schoolers... before the post-season. As specific as this may sound, this means that Johnson is primed for a 46-footer in the near future, and will likely jump up even more spots in the historical Mississippi High School Boys Triple Jump rankings. 

Lenasia Drummond - Hattiesburg High School 

Topping the Miss. High School Girls' performances of the week is the best female hurdler in the state, Lenasia Drummond.

Drummond won the 300mH at the 2022 Powerade Relays running a PR of 46.26. That time places her as the Mississippi #2 in the 300mH, and her PR of 14.26 in the 100mH marks her as the Mississippi #1 in the event, and the 3rd fastest 100m hurdler in the state over the last decade.

She is still undefeated this season against all Mississippi competition, with her only loss coming against Alabama's top heptathlete.

With the blazing times Drummond is throwing down this season, do not be surprised to see her defend her MHSAA 5A state title and her place as Mississippi's best hurdler in the 2022 Girls Outdoor Track and Field season.

JaBrysten Abram - Senatobia High School 

A performer to highlight in the Mississippi High School Boys hurdles is Senatobia High's JaBrysten Abram.

Abram got wins in both the 110mH and 300mH at the 2022 Oxford Invitational, which included a PR of 39.92 in the 300mH. That time currently ranks him Mississippi #2 in the High School Boys 300mH behind Hattiesburg High's Javarius Molden.

Abram, the reigning MHSAA 3A 110mH and 300mH State Champion, is still undefeated this season in the 300mH. With that being said, expect his good run of form to continue into the postseason where he will be looking to snag some MHSAA 4A gold medals to go along with his MHSAA 3A Gold Medals, as Senatobia has made the jump from 3A to 4A this season. 

Kayleigh Prentiss - Center Hill High School 

Center Hill's Kayleigh Prentiss ran a stellar triple at the 2022 DeSoto County Track and Field Championships in the 100, 200, and 300m Hurdles.

Her times for both the 100m and 200m have trended upwards and she ran what she needed to win in the 300m hurdles. Her ability in the 300m hurdles is nearly unmatched in the state, with the #1 mark by her name. As of now, Prentiss has not lost an event in either the sprints, hurdles, or her High Jump.

Let's see if she can keep this win streak alive for the rest of the season.

Sam Murray - Harrison Central HS

Murray continued off of the momentum that he has set at the beginning of his season, this time taking his high jumping talents all way to the East Coast at the 2022 FSU Relays. 

While at that meet, Murray became the third Mississippi prep to clear 6-8 this season, being in a three-way tie for the Mississippi #1 spot in the High School Boys High Jump. 

Murray is now currently ranked ninth in the nation, and that makes a total of five Mississippi preps that are nationally ranked inside of the top 40, and have all jumped over 6-7 this season. Mississippi also has three preps that are in the Top 15 nationally - Murray, Brandon Conerly, and Tyler Nichols. 

Finally, just one more exciting stat to throw in - Both Murray and Nichols who are tied for Mississippi #1 and U.S. #9 are in MHSAA 6A, and will face off for a state title on April 29, 2022, along with Murray's teammate Mikuan Sanders who has cleared 6-6 this season. 

Grab some popcorn folks, because the 2022 MHSAA 6A High School Boys High Jump State Championship is going to be a movie!

Gracyn Yelverton - Biloxi High School 

Gracyn Yelverton scored some more impressive wins at the 2022 Allstate Relays in the sprinting events, tallying up her win total to 12 wins this season, and staying undefeated in the 200m and 400m.

Yelverton won the event in 58.23 for a new 2022 season-best. Her performance in the 400m puts her at the #1 spot for the 400m so far.

In addition to those, Yelverton also scored wins in the 100m and the 200m by a convincing amount in all of them.

In addition to this, her younger sister, Addison Yelverton, finished behind her in her first sub-60 second performance and ran a Mississippi #3 and PR 59.36.

With these two prominent performances, the Biloxi High School 4x400m relay is looking very strong for the rest of the year.

Brandon Williams - Senatobia High School 

Another outstanding performance this weekend came from fellow Senatobia standout Brandon Williams.

At the 2022 Oxford Invitational and the 2022 Pontotoc Invitational, he proved that he has some lethal speed all the way from the 100m to the 800m. He won both the 200m and 400m at the 2022 Pontotoc Invitational with a 23.29 and 50.44, respectively.

Two days later at the Oxford Invitational, he came back with performances in the 100m running 11.68 and a win and PR in the 800m running 2:00.88, which ranks him 3rd among Miss. High School Boys half-milers.

With the kind of versatility we have seen from Williams throughout the season, expect him to be a multi-event threat at the 2022 MHSAA 4A State Championship.

La'Javeon Griffin - Canton High School 

Another top performer from this past weekend is Canton High School's La'Javeon Griffin.

At the 2022 Bianca Knight Invitational, he had an incredible podium finish in the 100m behind the Tylertown duo of Jordan Anthony and Jeremiah Dillon.

His time of 10.81 in the 100m also places him as Miss. High School Boys 3rd in the event behind Anthony and Dillon.

In addition, he won the 400m running in an impressive 49.94 and dipping under the 50 second barrier for the first time and taking down some of Mississippi's top 400m talent. That performance also places him as the Miss. #5 in the 400m and Miss #1 in the MHSAA 5A.

With the kind of times Griffin is throwing down this season, expect him to be a big contender at the 2022 MHSAA 5A Track and Field State Championships.

Sterling Scott - Starkville High School 

Finishing off the list of top boys performers is Starkville High's Sterling Scott.

One of the top jumpers in Mississippi, his most recent performances come from the 2022 MHS Big Blue Invitational where he had a win in the triple jump jumping 43-0 and runner up finish in the long jump with a 22-6, behind Luther Watkins, one of the best jumpers in Alabama.

Scott's performance of 22-11.5 from the 2022 Golden Wave Invitational still marks him as the best long jumper in the state.

He'll have some major competition in MHSAA 6A for the rest of the season, but keep an eye for this Starkville sensation to possibly take the crown at the MHSAA 6A State Championships. 

Addison McLaurin - Brandon High School

The other sub-60 performer of this season is Brandon High's Addison McLaurin!

McLaurin dominated the 2022 Rankin County Championships 400m in a PR of 58.66. What's crazy is this past race was only her second ever attempt at the 400m in her career. She's now the Mississippi #2 and one of only three girls to break 60 seconds for the 400m.

Coincidentally, all three of those athletes belong to MHSAA 6A schools that are in the South, the others being previously mentioned Addison and Gracyn Yelverton, meaning that it will be a very enjoyable race to watch at the 2022 MHSAA 6A State Meet.

The Brandon junior also clocked a 25.43 in the 200m for the win and a Miss. #2 mark for that event.

The 2021 MHSAA State runner-up in the 200m is shaping up to have a very good season and run at podium placements later this year.

Roury McCloyen - St. Joseph Catholic School

After a little bit of a break, St. Joseph junior Roury McCloyen came back out to play at the 2022 Bianca Knight Invitational, dominating the High School Boys Shot Put and Discus at the 2022 Bianca Knight Invitational. 

McCloyen threw a PR and Mississippi #1 of 56-11.5, as well as a mark of 150-3 in the Discus, winning in both events. He is also ranked 31st in the nation in the Shot Put, and sits at #2 in the last decade in the Mississippi High School Boys Shot Put. 

McCloyen, the 2021 MAIS Shot Put State Champion, leads the MAIS in both events, and remains undefeated for the season. 

The future for the MAIS junior is unknown, but he is the defending champion at the 2021 Mississippi Meet of Champions... Perhaps we can expect McCloyen to return to defend his title and crack into the 57's.