Press release
Paige Bueckers and Arik Gilbert Named Gatorade High School Athletes of the Year
2020 Winner Bueckers Headed to UCONN, Gilbert to LSU This Fall CHICAGO, July 24, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Gatorade announced the recipients of its 18th
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[{"type":"text","content":"2020 Winner Bueckers Headed to UCONN, Gilbert to LSU This Fall\n\n\nCHICAGO, July 24, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Gatorade announced the recipients of its 18th annual Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year awards. Paige Bueckers was named the 2020 Gatorade Female High School Athlete of the Year and Arik Gilbert was named the 2020 Gatorade Male High School Athlete of the Year. Bueckers is the first female basketball player to win the award since 2014, and Gilbert is the first tight end in history to win. \n\"Arik and Paige are truly the best of the best, outshining not only the fierce competition among the exceptional Gatorade National Players of the Year, but also beating out nearly six million student-athletes that participate in the sports our 12 nominees play,\" said Gatorade Senior Vice President and General Manager Brett O'Brien. \"What makes the Gatorade Athlete of the Year award so prestigious is not just the sheer size and quality of the talent pool, but also the criteria to be outstanding on the field of play, in the classroom and in the community.\"\nGatorade's Male and Female Athletes of the Year awards are among the most difficult to win in high school sports. Recent female winners have included the first prep to run a 100-meter dash in under 11 seconds, a 16-year-old Olympic semifinalist and the first student-athlete to win National Player of the Year honors in two different sports. Recent male winners have included the current starting quarterback of the Arizona Cardinals, a 2020 NBA All-Star, last season's starting quarterback at USC, and the KC Royals' No. 1 prospect.\nGatorade Athletes of the Year have gone on to have incredible success – they've combined for nine MVP awards, 13 National Championships, 59 all-star appearances and 20 were first round draft picks. Their accomplishments are more impressive in the context of their competition. The athletes who've been nominated but didn't win still went on to win hundreds of professional and college championships, and many have also turned into pillars in their communities, becoming coaches, business owners and educators.\n2019-20 GATORADE HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETE OF THE YEAR AWARD WINNERS\nBueckers: A three-time Gatorade Minnesota Girls Basketball Player of the Year, Bueckers of Hopkins High School (Minnetonka, Minn.), led the Royals to a perfect 30-0 record and the Mi...