Winning the most improved and breakout star of the season award is Maury's Junyce Hasberry. She wins this award thanks to her monstrous improvement in the 55m dash which led her to a state title this past month.
Though that first state title means a lot to her, being there for her family is what matters most.
This past year has been tumultuous to say the least for Junyce and the Hasberry family. It all started 13 months ago with a house fire at their family home. Unfortunately the fire was bad enough to cause them to completely uproot themselves and move multiple times in the months after the fire.
With all those changes and medical issues in the family Junyce had to remain focused on her school and team. She pushed herself every day and visibly got better.
Just four months after the fire she set to the track in the Class 5 state championships outdoors. In that meet she ran a blistering 43.99 in the 300H to take second and 12.20 in the 100 to finish fourth.
Everything changed again this indoor season though. From the first race December you could tell she was about to turn everything bad that has happened to her into one of the greatest seasons on record. And though at the state meet she did win the 55m dash and finish second in the long jump (18-8), it was the regional championships that took her from a good athlete to a superstar.
In that race she blazed the track in a 6.93 clocking to not only win regionals, take over the state lead, but also to now rank herself VA #5 all-time in the 55m dash. Wrap your mind around that... she went from running 7.17 last year to 6.93 this year.
She is certainly on the right path and her success on the track is definitely helping her family cope everyday but she is far from content with where she is now. Outdoors her and her Commodore teammates are coming for the state team title and that means we can expect her in five events in an attempt to take down one of the biggest and best dynasties our sport has ever seen.
This season she won the most improved and breakout star award, next season she could very much be the athlete of the year.
