JACKSON HOLE HIGH SCHOOL STANDOUT NAMED
GATORADE WYOMING 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 Anna Gibson of Jackson Hole High School as its 2013-
14 Gatorade Wyoming Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year. Gibson is the first Gatorade Wyoming Girls Cross Country
Runner of the Year to be chosen from Jackson Hole 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 Gibson as Wyoming’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, Gibson 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 freshman raced to a Class 3A individual state championship this past season with a time of 18:43.49, leading the
Broncs to a third-place finish as a team. A 2013 First Team All-State selection, Gibson won the Nike Cross Nationals Girls
Varsity 5K Race, breaking the tape in 18:50. She also claimed victory in the freshman race at the Bob Firman Invitational,
beating her next-closest competitor by more than a minute with a time of 18:57.30.
Gibson has maintained a 4.0 GPA in the classroom. A member of the Key Club and the Model United Nations Club, she
founded Green Ways, a non-profit group which encourages young people to support the environment by making art from
recycled items.
“Anna Gibson is by far the most inspirational runner I have coached,” said Jackson Hole head coach Jeff Brazil. “She loves
running, training, racing and the team. As a freshman, she has changed the team dynamic from one of working hard and
striving for success to one that loves the work and loves competing, both within themselves and with others.”
Gibson will begin her sophomore year of high school this fall.
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.
Gibson joins Gatorade Wyoming Girls Cross Country Runners of the Year Hailey Ricks (2012-13 & 2011-12, Star Valley High
School), Jessica Lemaster (2010-11, Cheyenne Central High School), Dana Morin (2009-10, Sheridan), Nicole Peterson (2008-
09, Rock Springs), and Jessica Lemaster (2007-08, Cheyenne Central) 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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