Collins Hill High School Standout Named Gatorade® Georgia Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year

CHICAGO (January 14, 2010) — In its 25th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with ESPN RISE, today announced Nicky Akande of Collins Hill High School as its 2009-10 Gatorade Georgia Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year. Akande is the second Gatorade Georgia Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year to be chosen from Collins Hill 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 Akande as Georgia’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, Akande joins an elite alumni association of past state award-winners in 12 sports, including Derek Jeter (1991-92, Kalamazoo HS, MI), Candace Parker (2001-02, Naperville Central HS, IL), Kevin Garnett (1992-93, Maudlin HS, SC), Abby Wambach (1997-98, Our Lady of Mercy, NY) and Mark Sanchez (2004-05, Mission Viejo HS, Calif.).

The 5-foot-7 senior distance runner captured fifth place at the Nike Cross Nationals Southeast Regional championships with a time of 17:55.01 this past season. Also the Runner of the Year as named by the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association, Atlanta Track Club and Gwinnett Daily Post, Akande finished 57th at the NXN Finals in 18:52.20. She broke the tape the Class AAAAA state meet in 17:55.01, leading the Eagles to second place as a team. Akande also placed first at The Reebok Coach Wood Invitational, second at the Mobile Cross Country Challenge of Champions and sixth at the Great American Cross Country Festival this past fall. She finished sixth at the 2008 Class AAAAA state meet as a junior and second in 2007 as a sophomore.

Akande has maintained a B average in the classroom. A member of her school’s chorus, she has volunteered as a youth running instructor, as a peer tutor and on behalf of a local soup kitchen.

“Nicky demonstrated the ability to win with a variety of strategies,” said Collins Hill Head Coach Andrew Hudson. “She could run hard from the starting gun or sit in a pack and finish strong. She was adaptable with a wide range of competitive skills.”

Akande remains undecided upon a collegiate destination.

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 RISE 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.

Akande joins Gatorade Georgia Girls Cross Country Runners of the Year Amanda Winslow (2008-09, Collins Hill) and Emily Reese (2007-08, Chamblee) as athletes who have won the cross country award since its inception in 2007.

To celebrate the award’s 25th anniversary, Gatorade wants you to vote for the All-Time Greatest Players of the Year at gatorade.com/POY25. 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.