Gatorade National Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year
Ohio thrower named nation's top high school performer

INDIANAPOLIS (June 21, 2007) – In its third decade of honoring the nation's best high school athletes , Gatorade ® Thirst Quencher, in partnership with RISE Magazine , today announced senior thrower Emily Pendleton of Woodmore High (Elmore, Ohio) as its 2006-07 Gatorade National Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year.

 

The award, which recognizes not only athletic performance, but also meeting high standards of academic achievement while demonstrating exemplary personal character on and off the field, distinguishes Pendleton as the nation's best girls high school track & field athlete. A national advisory board comprised of sportswriters and sport-specific experts from around the country selected Pendleton from nearly 439,000 female high school track & field athletes nationwide. She is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade Female High School Athlete of the Year Award, to be presented at a special ceremony the afternoon prior to The ESPY Awards in July.

Hailed as the best girls discus thrower in Ohio prep history, the 5-foot-8 Pendleton owned five of the top six discus throws in the country this spring, including the top two. No prep thrower in the country has come within 10 feet of Pendleton's top discus throw this year (183-3), which would have placed second in the recently completed NCAA Division I championships, almost four feet clear of third place. With the 2007 crown, she has won four straight Division III state titles in the discus, becoming the first athlete (boy or girl) in 100 years of Ohio High School Athletic Association competition to win a field event at the state meet four straight years.

A two-time Nike Outdoor Nationals discus champion, and the 2006 USA Junior Outdoor Nationals discus champion, Pendleton was also state runner-up in the shot put (42-10) this season to lift Woodmore to a fourth-place team finish at the state meet. As a junior, Pendleton owned six of the nation's top seven discus throws. She also owns a national Top-40 distance in shot put for 2007. Pendleton will continue to compete this week at the USA Junior Outdoor Track & Field Championships and later this summer as part of the IAAF World Youth Championships roster.

Pendleton has maintained a 3.90 in the classroom and donates her time as an area youth track coach in addition to collecting and delivering food for a local food pantry. A member of the Future Teachers of America, she also volunteers with Teen Advisory Group that offers guidance to area youth about life choices.

“She works harder than anybody I've ever seen at a track event,” said Woodmore coach Gary Whiting. “She works and works on technique. Strength will only take you so far; technique has to do the rest. In her case, Emily's technique is fantastic.”

Pendleton will attend the University of Michigan on a track scholarship this fall.

“Without question, Emily is deserving of recognition as the nation's best girls high school track & field athlete based on her performance and the tremendous ability she's demonstrated ,” said Gatorade Senior Vice President of Sports Marketing Jeff Urban. “But she is also a shining example to peers and aspiring young players of what a leader and a student-athlete should be. She represents everything we hope for in a Gatorade Player of the Year recipient.”

The Gatorade Player of the Year program recognizes one winner in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia in football, girls volleyball, boys and girls soccer, boys and girls basketball, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field. The selection process is administered by RISE Magazine, which works with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.

Former notable Gatorade National Players of the Year include:

• Reigning 200-meter world champion Allyson Felix

• 2007 Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Peyton Manning

• Two-time American League Most Valuable Player Alex Rodriguez

• NFL all-time leading rusher Emmitt Smith

• WNBA all-time leading scorer and rebounder Lisa Leslie

• Softball gold medalist Cat Osterman

• Beach volleyball gold medalist Kerri Walsh

For more on the Gatorade Player of the Year program, including nomination information and lists of past winners and future announcement dates, visit www.gatorade.com/playeroftheyear .
 

PAST GATORADE NATIONAL GIRLS TRACK & FIELD ATHLETES OF THE YEAR

 

Year

Name

High School/Hometown

Status

2006-07

Emily Pendleton

Woodmore/Elmore, Ohio

High School Senior

2005-06

Bianca Knight

Ridgeland/Ridgeland, MS

High School Senior

2004-05

Brittany Daniels

Merrill F. West/Tracy, CA

Univ. of Tennessee

2003-04

Shalonda Solomon

Long Beach Poly/Englewood, CA

Univ. of South Carolina

2002-03

Allyson Felix

Los Angeles Baptist/North Hills, CA

USA Track & Field/adidas

2001-02

Sanya Richards

St. Thomas Aquinas/Ft. Lauderdale, FL

USA Track & Field/Nike

2000-01

Ychlindria Spears

Luling/Luling, TX

Univ. of Texas Grad.

1999-00

Monique Henderson

Samuel FB Morse/San Diego, CA

USA Track & Field/Reebok

1998-99

Stacy Martin

Edgewood/Ellettsville, IN

Auburn Grad.

1997-98

Angela Williams

Chino/Chino, CA

USA Track & Field/Nike

1996-97

Kinshasa Davis

Woodrow Wilson / Long Beach , CA

USC Grad.

1995-96

Kim Mortensen

Thousand Oaks / Thousand Oaks , CA

UCLA Grad.

1994-95

Joanna Hayes

J.W. North/Riverside, CA

USA Track & Field/Nike

1993-94

Suzy Powell

Thomas Downey/Modesto, CA

USA Track & Field/Asics

1992-93

Marion Jones

Thousand Oaks / Thousand Oaks , CA

USA Track & Field/Nike

1991-92

Marion Jones

Thousand Oaks / Thousand Oaks , CA

USA Track & Field/Nike

1990-91

Marion Jones

Rio Mesa/Oxnard, CA

USA Track & Field/Nike

1989-90

Melisa Weis

Bakersfield/Bakersfield, CA

Cal State-Bakersfield Grad.

1988-89

Angela Burnham

Rio Mesa/Oxnard, CA

UCLA Grad.

1987-88

Chryste Gaines

South Oak Cliff/Dallas, TX

Stanford Grad.

1986-87

Janeene Vickers

Pomona/Pomona, CA

UCLA Grad.

1985-86

Yolanda Johnson

George Washington/Denver, CO

Univ. of Colorado Grad.