27 AAU Cross Country Runners Honored as Gatorade State Players of the Year
02/01/2023
13 boys and 14 girls with ties to AAU were awarded the honor for 2022-23
ORLANDO, Fla. (February 1, 2023) – Twenty-seven cross country runners with ties to AAU have been chosen as their state’s 2022-23 Gatorade Cross Country Player of the Year.
The Gatorade State Player of the Year award was established in 1985 to recognize the nation’s most outstanding high school student-athletes for their athletic excellence, academic achievement and exemplary character.
The cross country runners awarded the honor include 13 boys and 14 girls who either previously ran or currently run as part of AAU Track and Field.
Boys
In 2021, Isabel Conde De Frankenberg, Texas’ Girls Cross Country Player of the Year, won the 15-16-year-old Girls 4x800-meter relay with her Texas Thunder Track Club.
California’s Girls Cross Country Player of the Year Sadie Engelhardt set the 14-year-old Girls 1500m record at the 2020 AAU Junior Olympic Games with a time of 4:34.18. She also placed first in the 14-year-old Girls 3000m run. At the 2020 AAU Cross Country Nationals, Engelhardt took home another gold, placing first in the 14-year-old Girls 4000m run.
Also at the 2020 AAU Cross Country Nationals, Eliana Black, the Florida Girls Cross Country Player of the Year, placed first in the 12-year-old Girls 3000m.
In 2019, Keegan Smith, Tennessee’s Boys Cross Country Player of the Year, set a new meet record at the AAU Track and Field Indoor Nationals with a time of 9:44.44 in the 13-year-old Boys 3000m. He also won gold at the 2020 AAU Cross Country Nationals in the 14-year-old Boys 4000m run. Just a sophomore, this is his second year in a row being awarded the Tennessee Boys Cross Country Player the Year title.
And in the 2019 AAU Junior Olympic Games, Manny Putz, Wisconsin’s Boys Cross Country Player of the Year, set the record for the 12-year-old Boys 1500m run with a time of 4:18.10.
To determine the top cross country athlete in each state for this award, a selection committee of coaches, scouts, and media is used to evaluate the student-athletes.
Each state winner is now in the running to become the Gatorade National Cross Country Player of the Year, which will be announced later this month.
The Gatorade State Player of the Year award was established in 1985 to recognize the nation’s most outstanding high school student-athletes for their athletic excellence, academic achievement and exemplary character.
The cross country runners awarded the honor include 13 boys and 14 girls who either previously ran or currently run as part of AAU Track and Field.
Boys
- Christian Groendyk, Gatorade Colorado Boys Cross Country Player of the Year
- Jonathan Drew, Gatorade Delaware Boys Cross Country Player of the Year
- Patrick Koon, Gatorade Florida Boys Cross Country Player of the Year
- Tommy Latham, Gatorade Georgia Boys Cross Country Player of the Year
- Daniel Watcke, Gatorade Illinois Boys Cross Country Player of the Year
- Will Sheets, Gatorade Kentucky Boys Cross Country Player of the Year
- Connor Burns, Gatorade Missouri Boys Cross Country Player of the Year
- Logan Scott, Gatorade Nevada Boys Cross Country Player of the Year
- Rocky Hansen, Gatorade North Carolina Boys Cross Country Player of the Year
- Keegan Smith, Gatorade Tennessee Boys Cross Country Player of the Year
- Kevin Sanchez, Gatorade Texas Boys Cross Country Player of the Year
- Zack Munson, Gatorade Washington Boys Cross Country Player of the Year
- Amanuel (Manny) Putz, Gatorade Wisconsin Boys Cross Country Player of the Year
- Lauren Ping, Gatorade Arizona Girls Cross Country Player of the Year
- Sadie Engelhardt, Gatorade California Girls Cross Country Player of the Year
- Eliana Black, Gatorade Florida Girls Cross Country Player of the Year
- Lily Cridge, Gatorade Indiana Girls Cross Country Player of the Year
- Paityn Noe, Gatorade Iowa Girls Cross Country Player of the Year
- Ciara O’Shea, Gatorade Kentucky Girls Cross Country Player of the Year
- Emma Bourg, Gatorade Louisiana Girls Cross Country Player of the Year
- Leah Stephens, Gatorade Maryland Girls Cross Country Player of the Year
- Eleanor Raker, Gatorade Nevada Girls Cross Country Player of the Year
- Emma Zawatski, Gatorade New Jersey Girls Cross Country Player of the Year
- Leah Futey, Gatorade New Mexico Girls Cross Country Player of the Year
- Katie Clute, Gatorade Ohio Girls Cross Country Player of the Year
- Isabel Conde De Frankenberg, Gatorade Texas Girls Cross Country Player of the Year
- Allie Zealand, Gatorade Virginia Girls Cross Country Player of the Year
In 2021, Isabel Conde De Frankenberg, Texas’ Girls Cross Country Player of the Year, won the 15-16-year-old Girls 4x800-meter relay with her Texas Thunder Track Club.
California’s Girls Cross Country Player of the Year Sadie Engelhardt set the 14-year-old Girls 1500m record at the 2020 AAU Junior Olympic Games with a time of 4:34.18. She also placed first in the 14-year-old Girls 3000m run. At the 2020 AAU Cross Country Nationals, Engelhardt took home another gold, placing first in the 14-year-old Girls 4000m run.
Also at the 2020 AAU Cross Country Nationals, Eliana Black, the Florida Girls Cross Country Player of the Year, placed first in the 12-year-old Girls 3000m.
In 2019, Keegan Smith, Tennessee’s Boys Cross Country Player of the Year, set a new meet record at the AAU Track and Field Indoor Nationals with a time of 9:44.44 in the 13-year-old Boys 3000m. He also won gold at the 2020 AAU Cross Country Nationals in the 14-year-old Boys 4000m run. Just a sophomore, this is his second year in a row being awarded the Tennessee Boys Cross Country Player the Year title.
And in the 2019 AAU Junior Olympic Games, Manny Putz, Wisconsin’s Boys Cross Country Player of the Year, set the record for the 12-year-old Boys 1500m run with a time of 4:18.10.
To determine the top cross country athlete in each state for this award, a selection committee of coaches, scouts, and media is used to evaluate the student-athletes.
Each state winner is now in the running to become the Gatorade National Cross Country Player of the Year, which will be announced later this month.
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