Kelli Reagan came on strong at the end of the season, posting the fastest time in all classifications at the state meet. Photo by Alan Versaw.
ST. PIUS X HIGH SCHOOL STANDOUT NAMED
GATORADE NEW MEXICO GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY RUNNER OF THE YEAR
CHICAGO (January 8, 2014) — In its 29th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with USA TODAY High School Sports, today announced Kelli Reagan of St. Pius X High School as its 2013-14 Gatorade New Mexico Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year. Reagan is the first Gatorade New Mexico Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year to be chosen from St. Pius X High School.
The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the racecourse, distinguishes Reagan as New Mexico’s best high school girls cross country runner. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year award to be announced in January, Reagan joins an elite alumni association of past state award-winners in 12 sports, including Ryan Hall (1999-00, 2000-01, Big Bear HS, Calif.), Derek Jeter (1991-92, Kalamazoo HS, Mich.), Candace Parker (2001-02, Naperville Central HS, Ill.), Abby Wambach (1997-98, Our Lady of Mercy, N.Y.), and Mark Sanchez (2004-05, Mission Viejo HS, Calif.).
The 5-foot-4 senior raced to the Class 4A individual state championship this past season with a time of 18:23.5, leading the Sartans to third place as a team. Reagan also won the Los Alamos Invitational, the Manzano Invitational, the Cibola Invitational, the Rio Rancho Jamboree and the District championships.
Reagan has maintained a 4.43 GPA in the classroom. President of her school’s chapter of the National Honor Society, Reagan is also a talented artist and has volunteered locally on behalf of Habitat for Humanity.
“She’s certainly the best training and racing athlete I’ve coached in 27 years,” said St. Pius X coach Jeff Turcotte. “Plus she’s a straight-A student and a genuinely nice young lady.”
Reagan remains undecided upon a collegiate destination.
The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each
sport. The selection process is administered by the Gatorade high school sports leadership team in partnership with USA TODAY High School Sports, which work with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.
Reagan joins Gatorade New Mexico Girls Cross Country Runners of the Year Malia Gonzales (2012-13, Sue Cleveland High School), Jenna Thurman (2011-12, Del Norte High School), Julia Foster (2010-11 & 2009-10, Albuquerque Academy), Clara Milne (2008-09, Albuquerque Academy), and Rachel Velarde (2007-08, Eldorado) as athletes who have
won the cross country award since its inception in 2007.
To keep up to date on the latest happenings, become a fan of Gatorade Player of the Year on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. For more on the Gatorade Player of the Year program, including nomination information, a complete list of past winners and the announcement of the Gatorade National Player of the Year, visit www.gatorade.com/poy.
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