|
Rebel Signees Sweep Mississippi Gatorade Athlete Of The Year Awards
OMAMR
OXFORD,
Miss. – A pair of Ole Miss signees were honored this week as the
top high school track & field athletes in the state of Mississippi.
Oxford’s Sam Kendricks was named the 2010-11 Gatorade Mississippi
Boys Athlete of the Year, while Taryn Hartfield of Hattiesburg was
tabbed the 2010-11 Gatorade Mississippi Girls Athlete of the Year.
The prestigious awards were announced this week by the Gatorade
Company, in collaboration with ESPN RISE. The awards, which recognize
not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of
academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off
the track, also make Kendricks and Hartfield finalists for the Gatorade
National Boys and Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year.
“We are extremely glad to have signed the male and female
Gatorade Athletes of the Year from Mississippi and also proud for them,
their families and their high schools,” said Ole Miss head coach
Joe Walker. “Some of the best athletes on our team are in-state
kids, and we are excited for these two to add to that Mississippi
legacy.”
Kendricks, a 6-foot-2 senior pole vaulter, cleared a state-record 16-3
to capture the Class 5A state championship meet this spring, leading
the Oxford Chargers to a second-place finish as a team. Selected as
Mississippi’s Boys Track and Field PopStar, Kendricks also won
the indoor state championship in the pole vault. His season-best
outdoor vault of 17-0 ranked as the nation’s No. 7 clearance
among prep competitors in 2011 at the time of his selection.
The son of Oxford track and field coach Scott Kendricks has maintained
a 3.70 GPA in the classroom. A devoted member of his church youth
group, he has volunteered locally on behalf of youth soccer programs
and has participated in fundraisers for both breast cancer awareness
and St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.
Hartfield won the 100-meter high hurdles with a state-record time of
14.14 and captured the 300-meter intermediate hurdles in 45.31 at the
Class 6A state championship meet this spring. The 5-foot-7 senior also
finished second in the triple jump and was named Mississippi’s
Girls Track and Field PopStar. Hartfield’s championship time in
the 100 hurdles ranked as the nation’s No. 29 performance among
prep competitors in 2011 at the time of her selection.
The Hattiesburg High School graduate has maintained an A average in the
classroom. A tutor for young students, she has volunteered locally on
behalf of youth track programs and an area daycare center, and has
raised funds for autism research.
Ole Miss has a long history with the Gatorade Athlete of the Year
program in track and field. Past Rebels from the state of Mississippi
to receive the honor include George Kersh (1986 and 1987), Tiwanda
Vance (1988), Earnestine Slocum (1989), Brad Pride (1992), Alonzo Banks
(1994), James Shelton (1999) and Brittney Reese (2004).
Current Rebels Morris Kersh (Mississippi – 2008) and Neal Tisher
(Alabama – 2009) were also named Gatorade Athlete of the Year for
their state during their high schools days.
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.
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.
|
