AMERICAN
FORK, Utah, Feb. 7, 2023
/PRNewswire/ -- In its 38th year of honoring the
nation's most elite high school athletes, Gatorade today announced
Daniel Simmons of American Fork High
School in American Fork, Utah is
the 2022-23 Gatorade National Boys Cross Country Player of the
Year. Simmons won the prestigious award for his accomplishments on
and off the field, joining an impressive group of former Gatorade
National Boys Cross Country Players of the Year who have combined
for more than 19 National Championships.
Simmons was surprised with the award by his family, coaches and
teammates at practice, and former Gatorade National Boys Cross
Country Player of the Year Casey
Clinger presented Simmons with the trophy. Check out a video
of the announcement here.
The Gatorade Player of the Year award recognizes athletes not
just for their excellence on the playing surface, but for their
commitment in the classroom and impact in their community. Simmons
beat out nearly 300,000 other student-athletes who compete in boys
cross country nationwide, topping the list of state winners in boys
cross country who collectively boast an incredible list of
accomplishments, including 28 with signed National Letters of
Intent to run cross country at Division I colleges/universities and
28 with a GPA of 4.0 and above.
"At just 5-foot-8, Daniel Simmons
doesn't carry the physical stature we see in most elite distance
talents, but despite his shorter stride length, Simmons'
physiological gifts and fluidly relaxed gait delivered a season for
the ages," said Rich Gonzalez,
PrepCalTrack editor. "The American
Fork junior broke course records in his final six races last
fall, vanquishing an unprecedented slate of elite challengers made
up of national record-holders and multiple sub-4 milers to take
silver at Nike Cross Nationals. That capped a 2022 campaign during
which he slugged it out in the nation's most competitive state and
prep cross country's toughest region. This fall, he'll aim to
become the first prep boy to repeat as Gatorade National Player of
the Year since Michigan's
Grant Fisher from 2013-15."
The 5-foot-8, 125-pound junior raced to All-America honors by
placing second at Nike Cross Nationals in a time of 14:51.7 this
past season, anchoring the Cavemen to a fifth-place finish as a
team. Simmons also broke the tape at the Nike Cross Southwest
Regionals, clocking a 14:44.80 to win by more than 10 seconds and
lead his team to the regional crown. He eclipsed the course record
in each of his final six races last fall and won the Class 6A
individual state championship, pacing American Fork to the team title.
He has volunteered locally through church service projects
benefiting the elderly and the homeless and is also an accomplished
actor and singer.
Simmons has maintained a 3.98 GPA in the classroom. He will
begin his senior year of high school this fall.
In addition to excellence on and off the field of play, Gatorade
Players of the Year also pay it forward for the next generation. As
part of Gatorade's Play it Forward initiative, Simmons will receive
a grant to give to a 501c3 youth sports charity, which includes
Gatorade's social impact partners – Athlete Ally, Laureus
USA, Move United, Women's Sports
Foundation and Up2Us Sports – supporting Gatorade's ambition to
fuel the future of sport.
"The Gatorade Player of the Year award celebrates athletes like
Daniel who make an impact not just on the field of play, but in
their communities," said Gatorade president and general manager
Michael Del Pozzo. "We are proud
advocates for the lifelong benefits that come with playing high
school sports and look forward to seeing what Daniel will
accomplish in the future."
Each year, a selection committee evaluates the nation's top
talent to choose one state winner from each of the 50 states as
well as Washington D.C., 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 & field. In all, 608
athletes are honored each year. From the pool of state winners, one
national winner is selected in each of the 12 sports.
To learn more about the Gatorade Player of the Year program,
check out past winners or to nominate student-athletes, visit
playeroftheyear.gatorade.com or follow us on social media on
Facebook at facebook.com/GatoradePOY, Instagram at
instagram.com/Gatorade and Twitter at twitter.com/Gatorade.
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 Fast Twitch. The solutions they
provide are driven by a deep understanding of the unique occasions
and needs across athletic activity. Gatorade, their marquee brand,
is underpinned by a 57-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 $79
billion in net revenue in 2021, driven by a complementary
beverage and convenient foods portfolio that includes Lay's,
Doritos, Cheetos, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, Quaker, and
SodaStream. PepsiCo's product portfolio includes a wide range of
enjoyable foods and beverages, including many iconic brands that
generate more than $1 billion each in
estimated annual retail sales.
Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in Beverages
and Convenient Foods by Winning with PepsiCo Positive (pep+). pep+
is our strategic end-to-end transformation that puts sustainability
and human capital at the center of how we will create value and
growth by operating within planetary boundaries and inspiring
positive change for planet and people. For more information, visit
www.pepsico.com, and follow on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and
LinkedIn @PepsiCo.
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SOURCE The Gatorade Company