Press release
Sydney Thorvaldson Named 2020-21 Gatorade® National Girls Cross Country Player of the Year
RAWLINS, Wyo., April 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In its 36th year of honoring the nation's most elite high school athletes, The Gatorade Company today announced
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[{"type":"text","content":"RAWLINS, Wyo., April 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In its 36th year of honoring the nation's most elite high school athletes, The Gatorade Company today announced Sydney Thorvaldson of Rawlins High School in Rawlins, Wyo. is the 2020-21 Gatorade National Girls Cross Country Player of the Year. Thorvaldson won the prestigious award for her accomplishments on and off the field, joining an impressive group of former Gatorade National Girls Cross Country Player of the Year winners who have combined for eight National Championships and five bronze medals.\nThorvaldson was surprised by her family, coaches and teammates at school. Check out a video of the announcement here.\nThe award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Thorvaldson as the nation's best high school girls cross country player. A national advisory panel comprised of sport-specific experts and sports journalists helped select Thorvaldson from nearly 300,000 high school girls cross country players nationwide. \nCompetition for the national award was fierce. Thorvaldson topped the list of state winners in girls cross country who collectively boast an incredible list of accomplishments, including 15 repeat Gatorade State Players of the Year, 21 who volunteer at two or more organizations and 30 with GPAs of 4.0 or higher. \n\"In a broken season, Thorvaldson actively pursued racing against the best athletes around the country, even traveling thousands of miles to ensure she would be challenged by defending state champions and returning All-Americans,\" said Erik Boal, an editor with Dyestat. \"In spite of battling some of the most difficult racing conditions in the nation and, with her legacy in Wyoming unmatched, she saved her best performances for prestigious courses and showcase races in Colorado, Indiana and Texas, consistently separating herself from elite competitors by significant and often lopsided margins.\"\nThe state's three-time returning Gatorade Girls Cross Country Player of the Year and a two-time Gatorade Wyoming Girls Track & Field Player of the Year, the 5-foot-4 senior won the Class 3A state meet this past season with a state-record time of 16:59.6, breaking the tape more than two minutes and thirty seconds ahead of her n...