Meet SBLive's national high school boys track and field athletes of the year in 2021-22

We've officially shifted from the 2021-22 high school sports season to the 2022-23 preseason, so it's time to look back on the stars of the past fall, winter and spring seasons before we start looking ahead to who's next.

We started by highlighting some of the players of the year in volleyball, and next came the top football players, boys soccer players and girls soccer players in the nation.

Two weeks ago we featured the top girls basketball players and boys basketball players in the country, and we shifted last week to the softball stars and the baseball stars.

Vote now: Who was the national high school softball player of the year in 2021-22?

Vote now: Who was the national high school baseball player of the year in 2021-22?

Vote now: Who was the national high school girls track and field athlete of the year in 2021-22?

This week we started by featuring the top stars nationally in girls track and field, and now it's the boys' turn.

Here are 20 high school boys track and field athletes who had a season worthy of national recognition.

Alabama: Maddox Hamm, pole vault, Scottsboro, jr.

Hamm’s PR of 18-1 in the pole vault set a state record and ranked as the nation’s No. 1 clearance in 2022. Only five other high school athletes jumped within a foot of him last season. He'll need to improve by over a foot next season to catch Louisiana's Armand "Mondo" Duplantis (2018) at 19-5.5.

Arizona: Yan Vazquez, hurdles, Red Mountain, sr.

Vazquez won the national championship in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles this past season at the Nike Outdoor Nationals. Vazquez followed up less than a week later by taking second in the 400 hurdles at the USATF Under-20 National Championships with a time of 50.95 seconds, which ranked No. 2 nationally among prep competitors in 2022

California: Rodrick Pleasant, sprints, Gardena Serra, jr.

Pleasant broke the California high school record in the 100 meters when he ran a 10.14 at the Southern Section Masters Meet in May. It was tied for the fourth-fastest 100 in the nation in 2022, and he ran the second-fastest 200 in the nation with a PR of 20.40. He's also a four-star recruit in football.

Florida: Micah Larry, jumps/sprints, Montverde Academy, jr.

Larry had the best long jump in the nation in 2022, leaping 25-11.5 to win the 2A state championship. He also took state titles in the 100 and 200 meters. His fourth-place finish in the 100 at Adidas Nationals earned him All-American status, and he won the long jump.

Georgia: Malik Mixon, hurdles, Westlake, sr.

Mixon ran a wind-aided 13.28 (0.6 mph higher than the wind-legal threshold) to win the 110-meter hurdles title at the U.S. Under-20 Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field in Oregon last month. He also has the top time in the nation in 2022 in the 300-meter hurdles (35.84). Mixon will be a USC Trojan next track season.

Indiana: Tucker Smith, throws, Columbus North, sr.

Smith had the top shot put in the nation in 2022 with a mark of 72-0.5, breaking his own state record. He repeated as state champion in the shot put with a mark of 66-6.75 and took second in the discus, earning his second straight Indiana Gatorade Player of the Year award. He'll compete for Oklahoma next season.

Kansas: Casey Helm, throws, Madison, sr.

Helm broke the state record in the discus with a throw of 214-1, good for No. 1 in the nation in 2022 and No. 18 in U.S. high school history. The dual-sport star (football is the other) will focus on track and field at Princeton.

Kentucky: Cade Flatt, middle distance/sprints, Marshall County, sr.

Flatt won the national championship in the 800 meters at the New Balance Nationals Outdoor last month. His time of 1:46.48 was 0.03 seconds shy of the national high school record that has stood since 1996 (Michael Granville, California). The National Gatorade Player of the Year also excels in the 400 and will attend Mississippi next season.

Louisiana: Jack Larrivierre, throws, Jesuit, sr.

Larrivierre's javelin throw of 228-10.5 set a state record, won the Class 5A title and was the best in the nation in 2022. It ranks No. 16 in U.S. high school history. He'll be throwing for LSU in college.

Mississippi: Jordan Anthony, sprints, Tylertown, sr.

Anthony’s PR of 10.14 in the 100 set a state record and ranks No. 7 in U.S. prep history. His PR of 20.35 in the 200 this season also broke the state record, was tops in the nation this year and ranks No. 14 in U.S. high school history. He'll run for the University of Kentucky in college.

Missouri: Connor Burns, distance, Southern Boone, jr.

Burns set the state record in the mile with a time of 3:58.83 at the Hoka Festival of Miles. It ranked as the nation’s No. 3 time in 2022 and No. 5 in U.S. high school history. It also was the fastest mile ever run by a high school junior, passing the 58-year-old mark set by Jim Ryun (Kansas).

Nebraska: Jaylen Lloyd, jumps/sprints, Omaha Central, jr.

Lloyd won the national title in the long jump and took silver in the triple jump at the Nike Outdoor Nationals. He set state records in each event, with his long jump of 25-5.5 inches and his triple jump of 50-6 both ranking No. 3 nationally. He swept the long jump, triple jump and 100 meters at the Class A state meet. 

New Jersey: Greg Foster, jumps, Lawrenceville Prep, sr.

Foster swept the triple jump and long jump at the New Balance Nationals Outdoor last month. His 51-0.75 ranked as the nation’s No. 2 triple jump in 2022, and his 25-6.25 in the long jump also was good for No. 2 in the U.S. The Princeton signee is No. 2 on the all-time New Jersey list in the long jump, trailing only Carl Lewis.

North Carolina: Rocky Hansen, distance, Christ School, jr.

Hansen won a national championship in the 2-mile at the New Balance Nationals Outdoor with a time of 8:46.97, the nation’s No. 2 clocking in 2022, and he finished second in the mile. His time of 3:59.27 was the fastest 1,600 ever by a North Carolina high school runner.

Ohio: Justin Braun, sprints, Westerville Central, sr.

The state champion in the 100, 200 and 400 as a junior, Braun was a late scratch at the state championships as a senior with a quad injury. He still finished the season with the top 400 time in the nation at 45.65 and will continue his track career at USC.

Oregon: Caleb Lakeman, distance, Tualatin, sr.

Lakeman's 8:10.91 in the 3,000 meters ranked as the nation’s No. 1 performance among high school runners in 2022. He won the 1,500 in 3:50.78 and the 3,000 in 8:13.31 at the Class 6A state meet. He'll be competing for Georgetown in college.

Pennsylvania: Gary Martin, distance, Archbishop Wood, sr.

Martin in May became the first high school athlete since Jim Ryun in 1965 to run a sub-four-minute mile without a pacer, or "rabbit," finishing in 3:57.98. The Virginia signee's fastest mile overall was 3:57.89, the No. 2 time among high school competitors in 2022 and No. 4 in U.S. history.

South Carolina: T'Mars McCallum Jr., sprints/jumps, Carolina Forest, sr.

McCallum's 100 time of 10.13 seconds ranked No. 3 nationally last season, and his time of 20.71 in the 200 ranked No. 8 in the country. McCallum won the national championship in the 100 at New Balance Nationals Outdoor and earned All-American status by finishing second in the 200 and sixth in the long jump.

Texas: Pierre Goree, sprints, Duncanville, sr.

SBLive's 2021-22 Texas Large School Male Athlete of the Year, Goree excelled in track and football for Duncanville. He had the fastest wind-aided 100 time in the nation in 2022, running a 10.08 in April. He won a national championship in the 100 at the Nike Outdoor Nationals in 10.36 while also leading his 4x100 team to gold. Goree will be playing football for SMU in 2022-23.

Washington: Jeremiah Nubbe, throws, Rainier, sr.

Nubbe is a valedictorian, a state champion metal fabricator and one of the nation's top high school throwers. The well-rounded Texas-bound athlete broke the state record in the discus with a throw of 207-4, which tied for second in the nation in 2022.