Press release
Taylor Ewert Named 2019-20 Gatorade® National Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year
BEAVERCREEK, Ohio, June 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In its 35th year of honoring the nation's most elite high school athletes, The Gatorade Company today
About this update from Pepsico, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"BEAVERCREEK, Ohio, June 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In its 35th year of honoring the nation's most elite high school athletes, The Gatorade Company today announced Taylor Ewert of Beavercreek High School in Beavercreek, Ohio is the 2019-20 Gatorade National Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year. Ewert won the prestigious award for her accomplishments on and off the field, joining an impressive group of former Gatorade National Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year winners who have combined for 72 gold medals and 33 National Championships.\nEwert was surprised with the trophy by her family at home. \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 Ewert as the nation's best high school girls track and field athlete. A national advisory panel comprised of sport-specific experts and sports journalists helped select Ewert from more than one million other student-athletes who compete in girls track and field nationwide.\nCompetition for the national award was fierce. Ewert topped the list of 51 state winners in girls track and field who collectively boast an incredible list of accomplishments, including seven with All-American honors, 40 who volunteer at two or more organizations, and 25 with GPAs of 4.0 or higher.\nEwert is now a finalist for the most prestigious award in high school sports, the Gatorade Female High School Athlete of the Year award, which is announced in July.\n\"Taylor possesses a unique skill set we haven't seen from any prep athlete in the sport for at least two decades,\" says Erik Boal, an editor for DyeStat. \"In addition to her unparalleled success as an American Junior (U20) in the race walk, holding the record in seven distance categories, she has also showcased the capacity to match strides with any of her elite peers in the steeplechase—where she clocked a World Top 25 time among women of all ages in 2019 (2,000 meters)—as well as traditional distance races in cross country and track. Her meticulous preparation, unconditional dedication and relentless determination are qualities that led her to Arkansas, and will eventually take her incredible journey to the Olympic Games.\"\nThe 5-foot-10 senior won the 1600-meter run with a time of 4:52.02 and the 3200-meter...