Georgia's top high school girls track and field athletes: Meet the state’s best throwers

By Darren Nichols | Photo by Ben Ennis

Over the past few weeks, we've been taking a look at some of the top track and field athletes in Georgia.

We started with the top sprinters in the boys division, then focused on girls sprinters, followed by the best distance runners in the boys division and girls division.

We capped last week by looking at the best boys throwers, and now it's the girls division's turn.

There are hundreds of standout throwers in Georgia, and these lists are not intended to be comprehensive! Tag us on Twitter or Instagram at @SBLiveGA and let us know about other athletes worthy of fans’ attention.

Note: We'll also be posting lists of the state's top hurdlers and jumpers in the next couple of weeks. Many athletes excel in multiple events, but we won't do write-ups on the same athlete on multiple lists.

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Christianne Akintayo, Archer

Akintayo leads the state in the shot put at 43’11 by a wide margin, and she is only a sophomore. Her throw of 43’11 is also good enough for eighth-best in the country.

Daynejia Atkins, Stockbridge

Atkins is one of the top throwers in the state as only a sophomore. She is one of two sophomores with a top 10 throw for discus, sitting at 125’6.

Zemaya Carson, Warner Robins

Carson’s recent shot put throw of 40’7.5 catapulted her into the top 10 throwers this season. That same throw broke Warner Robins' record in the shot put.

Autumn Clark, Greater Atlanta Christian

Clark’s recently set PR of 136’3 is good enough for second among all girls in the state in discus. She also recently hit a PR in the shot put of 36’ 0.5.

Yasmine Chambers, South Atlanta

Chambers placed third in last season’s shot put in the 2A state championships. She has since shown great improvement by bringing her PR up to 39’3.

Jae’l Dunn, Stockbridge

Dunn had a stellar junior season, as she finished third in the 5A state championship in shot put and fourth in discus. The senior has the third-longest discus throw this season at 135'0.

Lexie Durban, North Forsyth

Durban is one of two sophomores with a top 10 shot put in the state this season. She is ninth with a throw of 39’ 9.5.

Kameryn Hannon, Grayson

Hannon is fourth among all girls in the state in the discus, and her current top throw of 131’0 this season isn’t even her PR. The junior will look for redemption after finishing second last year in discus in the 7A state championships.

Claire Harrison, First Presbyterian Day

Harrison is the reigning discus champion in Class 1A Private. She took home gold by a wide margin last year in her junior season and will look to go back-to-back as a senior.

Caroline Hodges, Chattooga

Hodges’ fresh PR in the discus of 130’1 is fifth-best in the state. At Chattooga she is a legend, holding the records for shot put and discus along with being the kicker on the football team.

Ayana Pugh, Jonesboro

Pugh is third among all seniors in the shot put and fifth overall in the state with a PR of 41'6. She holds the school record at Jonesboro in the shot put.

Neely Rogan, Apalachee

Rogan is one of two sophomores to have a top 10 discus throw this season. Her throw of 127’1 is good enough for eighth among all girls.

Skylar Soli, Douglas County

Soli excels in both the discus and shot put. Her PR of 43'5 in the shot put is good for second in the state, and her discus throw of 122’10 sits just outside the top 10.

Shelby Speed, Banks County

Speed showed more strength than speed last year when it came to winning gold in discus in the 2A state championships. Her winning throw was 128’6, and the second-place throw came in at 115’0.

Maya Steines, Alpharetta

Steines is tied for sixth in the state in discus this season and second among juniors with a throw of 129’10.

Trinity Stephens, McEachern

Stephens secured bronze in last year’s shot put in the 7A state championships. With the first- and second-place finishers being seniors, this could be Stephens' year to bring home gold, though she'll have some tough underclassmen to contend with.

Alana Thomas, Greater Atlanta Christian

Thomas placed third in the shot put in last season’s 3A championships. The senior recently threw PRs in discus (129'10) and shot put (40'9.5) and is one of two throwers in the state to have top 10 marks in both events this season.

Imani Washington, Wesleyan

Washington leads all seniors this season in the shot put with a PR of 41’ 9.75. With that throw she broke Wesleyan’s record that had been standing since 2012. She is the other thrower with top 10 marks in the shot and discus this season, sitting at No. 9 in the latter with a 125'8.

Leia Williams, Liberty County

Williams is by far the best girls discus thrower in the state this season, as she has a throw of 145’6, with the next closest being a 136’3. Williams' leading throw isn’t even her PR, so she still has room to improve.

Sha’nyia Woolery, Berkmar

Woolery's recent throw of 41'9 in the shot put broke the Berkmar record and is good enough for fourth in the state this season.