RAWLINS, Wyo., April 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In its
36th year of honoring the nation's most elite high
school athletes, The Gatorade Company today announced Sydney Thorvaldson of Rawlins High School in
Rawlins, Wyo. is the 2020-21
Gatorade National Girls Cross Country Player of the Year.
Thorvaldson won the prestigious award for her accomplishments on
and off the field, joining an impressive group of former Gatorade
National Girls Cross Country Player of the Year winners who have
combined for eight National Championships and five bronze
medals.
Thorvaldson was surprised by her family, coaches and teammates
at school. Check out a video of the announcement here.
The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic
excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and
exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field,
distinguishes Thorvaldson as the nation's best high school girls
cross country player. A national advisory panel comprised of
sport-specific experts and sports journalists helped select
Thorvaldson from nearly 300,000 high school girls cross country
players nationwide.
Competition for the national award was fierce. Thorvaldson
topped the list of state winners in girls cross country who
collectively boast an incredible list of accomplishments, including
15 repeat Gatorade State Players of the Year, 21 who volunteer at
two or more organizations and 30 with GPAs of 4.0 or higher.
"In a broken season, Thorvaldson actively pursued racing against
the best athletes around the country, even traveling thousands of
miles to ensure she would be challenged by defending state
champions and returning All-Americans," said Erik Boal, an editor with Dyestat. "In spite of
battling some of the most difficult racing conditions in the nation
and, with her legacy in Wyoming
unmatched, she saved her best performances for prestigious courses
and showcase races in Colorado,
Indiana and Texas, consistently separating herself from elite
competitors by significant and often lopsided margins."
The state's three-time returning Gatorade Girls Cross Country
Player of the Year and a two-time Gatorade Wyoming Girls Track
& Field Player of the Year, the 5-foot-4 senior won the Class
3A state meet this past season with a state-record time of 16:59.6,
breaking the tape more than two minutes and thirty seconds ahead of
her next-closest competitor, leading the Outlaws to a fourth place
finish as a team. Thorvaldson also set a state prep 5K record in Colorado when she won the Heritage Distance
Classic in 16:19.0. She also owns the fastest prep 5K mark in Idaho
by virtue of her title-winning run at the Nike Cross Nationals
Northwest Regional in 2019.
A member of the Rawlins High School student council and National
Honor Society, Thorvaldson has volunteered locally on behalf of
community beautification projects and has donated her time as a
teacher's aide at her church.
Thorvaldson has maintained a 4.0 GPA in the classroom. She has
signed a National Letter of Intent to run cross country and track
on scholarship at the University of
Arkansas this fall.
"Sydney is one of the best high school athletes in the country,
but she also performs admirably in the classroom and the
community," said Gatorade Senior Vice President and General Manager
Brett O'Brien. "This award is about
celebrating the whole student-athlete for who they are, and we look
forward to seeing Sydney's continued success in and out of
sports."
Each year a selection committee evaluates the nation's top
talent in the District of Columbia
and all 50 states, choosing national winners in 12 different
sports: football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country,
boys and girls basketball, baseball, softball, boys and girls
soccer, and boys and girls track and field.
Gatorade is dedicated to recognizing, supporting and keeping
athletes in the game because of the lifelong skills sports instill
on and off the field. Since the program's inception in 1985,
Gatorade Player of the Year award recipients have won hundreds of
professional and college championships, and many have also turned
into pillars in their communities, becoming coaches, business
owners and educators. Previous winners include a distinguished list
of athletes, such as Peyton Manning,
Abby Wambach, Jayson Tatum, Derek
Jeter, Elena Delle Donne and
many other sports icons.
To learn more about the Gatorade Player of the Year program,
check out past winners or to nominate student-athletes, visit
www.playeroftheyear.gatorade.com, on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/GatoradePOY or follow us on Twitter at
www.twitter.com/Gatorade.
PREVIOUS GATORADE
NATIONAL GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY PLAYER OF THE YEAR
WINNERS
|
YEAR
|
NAME
|
HOMETOWN
|
STATUS
|
2019-20
|
Katelyn
Tuohy
|
Thiells,
NY
|
North Carolina State
University
|
2018-19
|
Katelyn
Tuohy
|
Thiells,
NY
|
North Carolina State
University
|
2017-18
|
Katelyn
Tuohy
|
Thiells,
NY
|
North Carolina State
University
|
2016-17
|
Brie
Oakley
|
Aurora, CO
|
University of
California, Berkeley
|
2015-16
|
Katie
Rainsberger
|
Colorado Springs,
CO
|
Ran for University of
Washington
|
2014-15
|
Anna
Rohrer
|
Mishawaka,
IN
|
Ran for University of
Notre Dame
|
2013-14
|
Alexa
Efraimson
|
Camas, WA
|
Nike
|
2012-13
|
Sara
Baxter
|
Simi Valley,
CA
|
Ran for University of
Oregon
|
2011-12
|
Molly
Seidel
|
Hartland,
WI
|
Puma
|
2010-11
|
Aisling
Cuffe
|
Cornwall,
NY
|
Saucony
|
2009-10
|
Megan
Goethals
|
Rochester Hills,
MI
|
Ran for University of
Washington
|
2008-09
|
Jordan
Hasay
|
San Luis Obispo,
CA
|
Nike
|
2007-08
|
Ashley
Brasovan
|
Wellington,
FL
|
Ran for Duke
University
|
About Gatorade
The Gatorade Company, a division of PepsiCo (NASDAQ: PEP), meets
the needs of consumers who participate in Sports and Fitness,
through brands that include Gatorade, Propel, Muscle Milk, Evolve
and Bolt24. The solutions they provide are driven by a deep
understanding of the unique needs and occasions of different types
of sports and fitness. Gatorade, their marquee brand, is
underpinned by more than 50-year history of studying the best
athletes in the world and sports-nutrition research by the Gatorade
Sport Science Institute, allowing it to provide
scientifically-formulated products that meet athletes' needs both
on and off the field. For more information and a full list of
products, please visit www.gatorade.com.
About PepsiCo
PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion
times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the
world. PepsiCo generated more than $70
billion in net revenue in 2020, driven by a complementary
food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade,
Pepsi-Cola, Quaker, Tropicana and SodaStream. PepsiCo's product
portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages,
including 23 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail
sales.
Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in
Convenient Foods and Beverages by Winning with Purpose. "Winning
with Purpose" reflects our ambition to win sustainably in the
marketplace and embed purpose into all aspects of our business
strategy and brands. For more information, visit
www.pepsico.com.
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SOURCE The Gatorade Company