Anna Gibson- 2013 Girls Gatorade Award Winner

 
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. 
###