Stockbridge High School Track Athlete Kennedi Bryan Voted ITG Next Georgia Female Athlete of the Month for March 2023
Congratulations to Stockbridge High School senior track athlete Kennedi Bryan, the March 2023 ITG Next Georgia Female Athlete of the Month, presented by Georgia Farm Bureau Insurance. Bryan was one of four nominees chosen for their outstanding performance last month. ITG Next readers had the opportunity to vote for each nominee, and in the end, it was Bryan who received the majority of the votes.
Bryan is in just her second season with the Tigers track and field team, but she has made the most of her brief varsity experience. She is defined as a “short sprinter” by Stockbridge track and field coach Kevin Barnes, who says Bryan is exactly what any coach looks for in a student-athlete.
“Kennedi is the epitome of what you hope for in a student-athlete,” Barnes said. “She is phenomenal out on the track, as well as in the classroom.”
Bryan’s 4.2 GPA has certainly proved what she is capable of when pounding the books, and she’s proven that she’s pretty good when pounding the track asphalt, too. Her specialty is primarily the 100 meters and 200 meters, but she is also part of the Stockbridge 4×400 relay team that took home the Class 4A state championship last year.
So far this year, Bryan has taken first place in the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash events at the Georgia High School Champions Challenge. She ran an event-best time of 12.59 seconds in the 100m, and her time of 25.83 seconds was good enough to take first place in the 200m as well. She had a solid performance earlier this year in the Erin Marsh Invitational at Buford High School, where she placed second in the 100-meter dash and the 200-meter dash.
According to her coach, Bryan is ranked No. 8 in Class 4A in the 100 meters and 200 meters, but is projected to finish No. 2 in the state.
While the Stockbridge senior track standout is doing just fine with her relay team and her 100- and 200-meter events, her coach says there is yet another event she is attempting to conquer.
“Kennedi has started competing in the long jump,” Barnes said.
She is currently ranked No. 15 in the state, but Barnes expects her to come on strong as she participates in more events.
“She is doing really well, and I expect her to qualify for state,” he said.
Bryan talked about her late start in the sport, and how she’s glad it all worked out.
“I started running track in the ninth grade, but I was only able to run one event before Covid hit,” she recalled.
The next year, she skipped track out of an abundance of caution, until jumping back in last year for her junior season.
“It was difficult starting back after missing two years,” she admitted.
But she was able to acclimate to the sport very quickly, and now she’s hoping to finish strong down the stretch with half of the track season remaining.
As far as her future is concerned, Bryan will be attending the University of Alabama on a full academic scholarship, and there remains a chance that track could still be a part of her life in college.
“We are talking with the Alabama coaches to see if we can get some track scholarship money included, too,” said Barnes.
Let’s hope that is the case because Kennedi Bryan is not done running just yet.
