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BETHESDA-CHEVY CHASE HIGH SCHOOL STANDOUT NAMED GATORADE MARYLAND GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY RUNNER OF THE YEAR
CHICAGO (January 10, 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 Caroline Beakes of Bethesda- Chevy Chase High School as its 2012-13 Gatorade Maryland Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year. Beakes is the first Gatorade Maryland Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year to be chosen from Bethesda-Chevy Chase 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 Beakes as Maryland’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, Beakes 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 5-foot-3 sophomore raced to the Class 4A individual state championship this past season with a time of 18:28, leading the Barons to the state title as a team. A 2012 Washington Post First Team All-Met selection, Beakes earned ninth place at the 2012 Nike Cross Nationals Southeast Regional championships, crossing the line in 17:50.4.
Beakes has maintained a 3.88 GPA in the classroom. An accomplished pianist, she is a member of the Spanish Honor
Society and has volunteered locally as a peer tutor and summer camp counselor.
“Caroline Beakes is a very impressive runner who ran a great race at the state meet,” said Chad Boyle, head coach at Dulaney High. “She bested a very competitive field in the Class 4A classification. Any of the top seven or eight girls were capable of winning the race, but she was the one who was able to come out on top.”
Beakes will begin her junior 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 high school sports leadership team in partnership with USA TODAY High School Sports, 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.
Beakes joins Gatorade Maryland Girls Cross Country Runners of the Year Hannah Oneda (2011-12, Winters Mill High
School), Maura Linde (2010-11, Century High School), Jessie Rubin (2009-10, Thomas S. Wootton), Anna Bosse (2008-
09, Walter Johnson), and Louise Hannallah (2007-08, Winston Churchill) 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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