PRESS RELEASE - In its 33rd year of honoring the nation's best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, today announced Anna Hall of Valor Christian High School as its 2017-18 Gatorade Colorado Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year. Hall is the first Gatorade Colorado Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year to be chosen from Valor Christian 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 Hall as Colorado's best high school girls track & field athlete. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year award to be announced in June, Hall joins an elite alumni association of state track & field award-winners, including Lolo Jones (1997-98, Roosevelt High School, Iowa), Allyson Felix (2002-03, Los Angeles Baptist High School, Calif.), Robert Griffin III (2006-07, Copperas Cove High School, Texas), Grant Fisher (2013-14 & 2014-15, Grand Blanc High School, Mich.) and Candace Hill (2014-15, Rockdale County High School, Ga.).
The 5-foot-11 junior set a national high school record in the heptathlon this past season, amassing 5,798 points at the Great Southwest Classic. She went on to win the heptathlon at the USA Track & Field Junior National Championships with a score of 5,660, which ranks No. 2 in history among prep competitors. Hall's performance qualified her for the World Junior Championships to be held in Finland in July. In leading the Eagles to a Class 4A state championship, Hall set a new class record in the 300-meter hurdles (40.76) in addition to winning the 100-meter hurdles and long jump, also capturing second in the 200-meter dash. At the time of her selection, Hall ranked No. 3 in the nation in the 300- meter hurdles, No. 5 in the high jump (5 feet, 11.75 inches) and No. 9 in the long jump (19 feet, 10.5 inches) among girls prep athletes in 2018.
A National Honor Society member, Hall has donated her time to K-Life Ministries and to Brent's Place, a long-term home for families and children with life-threatening illnesses. She has also volunteered locally as a youth track coach. "Anna Hall is just exceptional in all areas," said Maurice Henriques, head coach at Niwot High. "She's probably the best athlete in the state, and maybe the best in the nation. She's a role model for the state for her attention to detail to this sport in every area."
Hall has maintained a weighted 4.15 GPA in the classroom. She will begin her senior 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 Player of the Year Selection Committee, 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.
Hall joins recent Gatorade Colorado Girls Track & Field Athletes of the Year Arria Minor (2016-17, Denver East High School), Katie Rainsberger (2015-16, Air Academy High School), Jordyn Colter (2014-15, Cherry Creek High School), Dior Hall (2013-14, George Washington High School), Ana Holland (2012-13, Regis Jesuit High School), Valarie Allman (2011-12, Silver Creek High School), Dior Hall (2010-11, George Washington High School), Eleanor Fulton (2009-10, Highlands Ranch High School), LaTraia Scott (2008-09, Coronado High School), Emily Blok (2007-08, Conifer High School), and Sarah Cocco (2006-07, Fairview High School) among the state's list of former award winners.
As a Gatorade Player of the Year, Hall will be able to select a national or local youth sports organization to receive a grant as part of the Gatorade Play It Forward program. Every Gatorade Player of the Year state winner receives a $1,000 grant to donate and will have the opportunity to enter for an additional $10,000 spotlight grant by writing a brief essay explaining why their selected organization deserves additional support. 12 spotlight grants - one for each sport - will be announced throughout the year.
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