Ana Holland and Connor Turnage wowed the crowds not only at the state meet, but all season long. Photos by Alan Versaw and Jeff McCoy.
ANA HOLLAND
CHICAGO (June 19, 2013) — In its 28th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with USA TODAY High School Sports, today announced Ana Holland of Regis Jesuit High School as its 2012-13 Gatorade Colorado Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year. Holland is the first Gatorade Colorado Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year to be chosen from Regis Jesuit 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 track, distinguishes Holland as Colorado’s best high school girls track & field athlete.
Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Girls Track & Field Athleteof the Year award to be announced in June, Holland joins an elite alumni association of state award-winners in 12 sports, including Allyson Felix (2001-02, Los Angeles Baptist, 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.), Mark Sanchez (2004-05, Mission Viejo HS, Calif.), Lolo Jones (1997-98, Roosevelt HS, Ia.) and Bianca Knight (2006-07, Ridgeland HS, Miss.).
The 5-foot-1 senior won three individual championships at the Class 5A state meet and led the Raiders to fourth place as a team this season. Also The Denver Post All-Colorado Athlete of the Year, Holland captured first place in the 400-meter dash with a state-record time of 52.49 seconds, the 100-meter dash in 11.33 and the 200-meter dash in 23.54. Her 400- and 100-meter times at the state meet as well as her 200-meter time of 23.29 at the Liberty Bell Invitational, respectively, ranked first, second and third among U.S. prep competitors in 2013 at the time of her selection. She also won the 100 and 400 as a sophomore at the 2011 Class 5A state meet.
Holland has maintained a 3.63 weighted GPA in the classroom. A member of her school’s Esprit de Corps student group, she has volunteered 120 hours of community service on behalf of the Each One Teach One organization.
“Her athletic ability is exceptional, as evidenced by winning three state titles and being nationally ranked in all three of those events,” said Lou Krauss, head coach of rival Highlands Ranch High. “She has also demonstrated class and humbleness to her fellow competitors. She is certainly the class of female athletes in Colorado.”
Holland has signed a National Letter of Intent to compete in track and field on scholarship at the University of Virginia this fall.
CONNOR TURNAGE
CHICAGO (June 20, 2013) — In its 28th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with USA TODAY High School Sports, today announced Connor Turnage of Highlands Ranch High School as its 2012-13 Gatorade Colorado Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year. Turnage is the first Gatorade Colorado Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year to be chosen from Highlands Ranch 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 track, distinguishes Turnage as Colorado’s best high school boys track & field athlete. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year award to be announced in June, Turnage joins an elite alumni association of state award-winners in 12 sports, including Ryan Hall (1999-01, Big Bear HS, Calif.), Meb Keflezighi (1993-94, San Diego HS, Calif.), Derek Jeter (1991-92, Kalamazoo HS, Mich.), Candace Parker (2001-02, Naperville Central HS, Ill.), Mark Sanchez (2004-05, Mission Viejo HS, Calif.) and Lolo Jones (1997-98, Roosevelt HS, Ia.).
The 5-foot-11 junior won the triple jump with a leap of 48 feet, 8.5 inches at the Class 5A state meet this season. An All-Colorado selection as named by The Denver Post, Turnage also placed second in the long jump in 22-3 and ran the second leg of the seventhplace 4x100-meter relay squad that finished in 42.92 seconds. His second-place triple jump performance of 49-0.5 at the Great Southwest Classic ranked No. 11 among U.S. prep competitors in 2013 at the time of his selection. Turnage also won the triple jump as a sophomore at the 2012 Class 5A state meet.
Turnage has maintained a B average in the classroom. In addition to serving as manager of his school’s store as part of the DECA entrepreneurial leadership program, he has coordinated a can drive to benefit a local homeless shelter and led fundraising efforts to assist victims of the Boston Marathon bombings.
“Connor Turnage is obviously a great athlete, and he is a lot of fun to watch,” said John Reyes, head coach of rival ThunderRidge High. “He is very well coached, and has outstanding form for an athlete his age. One can tell that he is knowledgeable about his event from his approach to all three phases of his triple jump. He takes track and field very seriously, and he is not simply relying on athletic ability, which is why he is so fun to watch.”
Turnage will begin his senior year of high school this fall.
Turnage joins recent Gatorade Colorado Boys Track & Field Athletes of the Year Raymond Bozmans (2011-12, Fort Collins High School), Connor Winter (2010–11, Arapahoe High School), Trevor Brown (2009-10, Wasson), Mason Finley (2008–09 & 2007-08, Buena Vista), and Jeremy Rankin (2006-2007, Overland) among the state’s list of former award winners.
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