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The long holiday weekend was the perfect chance for a collection of the best athletes in the country to rewrite the record books and shuffle the national leaderboard.
From the always-thrilling VA Showcase on the East Coast, to smaller, regional meets in Michigan and Texas, there were plenty of nominees to choose from for the third NPOTW.
The National Performer of the Week poll will close at 5 p.m. CT on Thursday, January 22, and the winner will be announced shortly after.
Check out 2026's third National Performer of the Week!
This Week's Nominees:
Quincy Wilson, Bullis School (Md.): One of the best high school sprinters we've ever seen had himself a busy but successful weekend at the VA Showcase. In the 500m, Wilson became the second-fastest high schooler ever, running 1:00.56 as he is just the second to ever break 1:01. Wilson also helped Bullis crush their own national record in the Mixed 4x400m, splitting 45.79 as the Bulldogs clocked 3:20.95. Wilson also ran a leg on their 4x200m squad that was DQ'd after running 1:24.54, which would have been a meet record and the No. 2 time in history.
Zacchaeus Brocks, Detroit Catholic Central (Mich.): While a lot of the country was in either Virginia Beach or Chicago, Brocks was in Ann Arbor for the University of Michigan High School Showcase. Brocks became the first one to dip below 7.60 in the 60mH this season, running 7.57 in the fifth win of his senior campaign. The No. 1 time in the country, Brocks is now tied for the fourth-fastest time in high school history, and is the new state record holder. He also ran6.94 in the 60m, finishing eighth.
Joseph West III, Round Rock Stony Point (Texas): At the VA Showcase, the Texas standout took care of business over his long weekend, winning the long jump and finishing fourth in the 60m. In the former, West III jumped 24-8 to win by 2.5 inches, coming out on top of a field that saw four other competitors beyond 23-2.75. His performance also made him the No. 5 jumper in Texas history. In his fourth-place finish in the 60m, West III ran 6.86, one of the top-50 performances so far this year.
Miles Nesmith, Youth Track of Memphis (Tenn.): Down in Houston at the Carl Lewis Invitational, Nesmith became the third athlete to jump 51-0 or better this year, notching a mark of 51-7.5. The senior won by nearly four feet and has now cleared 50-0 in both of his competitions so far this year. It's also worth noting that Nesmith is the lone athlete in the nation ranked in the top-10 in both horizontal jumps, sitting No. 1 in the triple and No. 8 in the long.
Cole Boone, Pulaski County (Va.): In his first 1000m of the new year, the national record holder took down a speedy field in 2:25.07, winning by over three seconds. Boone, who has already run 35.78 (300m) and 1:04.53 (500m) this season, continues to flex his turnover, this time doing so comfortably as he clocked a new U.S. No. 1. His performance, which is five seconds shy of his national record he established last March, is still good enough for the 21st fastest-time in high school history.
