Cherry Creek's Jordyn Colter is the 2011 Gatorade Female Cross Country Athlete of the Year for Colorado. Photo by Jeff McCoy.
CHERRY CREEK HIGH SCHOOL STANDOUT NAMED
GATORADE COLORADO GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY RUNNER OF THE YEAR
CHICAGO (January 12, 2012) — In its 27th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with ESPN HS, today announced Jordyn Colter of Cherry Creek High School as its 2011-12 Gatorade Colorado Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year. Colter is the first Gatorade Colorado Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year to be chosen from Cherry Creek 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 Colter as Colorado’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, Colter 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 4-foot-11 freshman raced to the Class 5A state title this past season with a time of 18:24.6, leading the Bruins to fourth place as a team. Colter also earned victories at the Liberty Bell Invitational, the Pat Amato Classic, the Cherry Creek Invitational, the Region 2 Championships and the Centennial League Championships. She finished second at the Nike Pre-Nationals.
Colter has maintained an A average in the classroom. A member of the local Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter, she has volunteered on behalf of the Salvation Army.
“Jordyn sets goals for herself, works hard in practice and asks what she needs to do in order to achieve her best,” said Cherry Creek cross country coach Ethan Dusto. “She’s also very supportive of the other runners on the team and encourages them while staying focused on her goals.”
Colter 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 ESPN HS and the Gatorade high school sports leadership team, 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.
Colter joins Gatorade Colorado Girls Cross Country Runners of the Year Kelsey Lakowske (2010-11 & 2009-10, Boulder High School), Allie McLaughlin (2008-09, Air Academy), and Kaitlin Hanenburg (2007-08, The Classical Academy) 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 playeroftheyear.gatorade.com.
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