JT Daniels and Katelyn Tuohy Named Gatorade High School Athletes of the Year

High School Stars Share Stage During Sports' Biggest Awards Week

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Jul 18, 2018, 05:21 ET

LOS ANGELES, July 18, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The biggest names in high school and professional sports convened in Los Angeles tonight as Gatorade honored the top prep male and female athletes at the 16^th annual Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year awards. Gatorade National Football Player of the Year, JT Daniels (Mater Dei High School/Santa Ana, Calif.), was named the 2018 Gatorade Male Athlete of the Year and Gatorade National Girls Cross Country and Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year, Katelyn Tuohy (North Rockland High School/Thiells, N.Y.), received the 2018 Gatorade Female Athlete of the Year.

On Tuesday, July 17, 2018 in Los Angeles, California; 2018 Gatorade Male and Female Athlete of the Year award winners JT Daniels of Mater Dei High School (Santa Ana, Calif.) and Katelyn Tuohy of North Rockland High School (Thiells, N.Y.) pose with the pro athletes who presented at the 2016 Gatorade Athlete of the Year Awards. Pictured from left to right: (top row) Travis Kelce, Peyton Manning, Karl Anthony-Towns, Todd Gurley and Abby Wambach (bottom row): Sydney McLaughlin, Katelyn Tuohy, JT Daniels and Sam Darnold. Photo Credit/Gatorade

On Tuesday, July 17, 2018 in Los Angeles, California; 2018 Gatorade Male Athlete of the Year and incoming USC Quarterback JT Daniels poses with New York Jets Quarterback and former USC Quarterback Sam Darnold. Photo Credit/Gatorade

The 2018 Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year awards took place Tuesday, July 17, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. Gatorade Coaching Excellence Award winners, player of the year nominees and pro athlete presenters pictured from left to right include: (top row) Travis Kelce, Sam Darnold, Sydney McLaughlin, Peyton Manning, Karl Anthony-Towns, Todd Gurley, Abby Wambach, Marcia Pinder and Troy McAllister (bottom row): Ousseni Bouda, Megan Faraimo, Anthony Schwartz, Katelyn Tuohy, JT Daniels, Christyn Williams, Thayer Hall and R. J. Barett. Photo Credit/Gatorade

Daniels and Tuohy were honored at the awards dinner emceed by ESPN SportsCenter Host, Sage Steele and attended by Karl-Anthony Towns (Minnesota Timberwolves center and 2014 Gatorade Male High School Athlete of the Year), Abby Wambach (former U.S. Women's National Soccer Team forward and 1997-98 Gatorade New York Girls Soccer Player of the Year), Todd Gurley (Los Angeles Rams Running Back and NFL Offensive Player of the Year), Sam Darnold (New York Jets Quarterback and No. 3 2018 NFL Draft pick), Travis Kelce (Kansas City Chiefs and Pro Bowl Tight End), and Sydney McLaughlin (U.S. Olympic Sprinter/Hurdler and 2016 and 2017 Gatorade Female High School Athlete of the Year).

Established in 1985, 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. One National Player of the Year is awarded in each sport. In addition to athletic excellence, the award recognizes academic achievement and exemplary character on and off the field. In 2003, the Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year awards were established to identify and honor the nation's top overall male and female high school athletes from among the 12 Gatorade National Players of the Year recognized during the high school athletic season.

All Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year nominees will walk The ESPYS red carpet and be featured as special guests during The ESPYS. The show will take place Wednesday evening and air live on ABC at 8:00 p.m. ET.

"For 33 years, Gatorade has had the privilege of honoring the best and brightest athletes in sport by awarding them the Gatorade Player of the Year not only for excelling on the playing field, but also in their classrooms and communities," said Gatorade Senior Vice President and General Manager Brett O'Brien. "JT and Katelyn embody the true spirit of the Gatorade brand at its core and we're excited to see what's in store for their futures."

2018 GATORADE HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETE OF THE YEAR AWARD WINNERS

JT Daniels: The returning state Gatorade Player of the Year led the Monarchs to a 15-0 record. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound quarterback managed to finish off the year with 52 passing touchdowns and just 4 interceptions. In three years as the starter, JT threw for a school-record 12,014 yards and 152 touchdown passes.

Ranked No. 1 by Rivals, No. 1 QB by USA Today, MaxPreps, and PrepNation
Passed for 4,124 yards and 52 touchdowns in 2017
Led his team to an undefeated season, California Division 1 Southern Section Title, and CIF Crown
Volunteered as part of Mater Dei's Monarchs for Marines program supporting the troops and families of the First Marine Division stationed at nearby Camp Pendleton
Donated his time locally delivering care backpacks to the homeless and as a youth football coach
3.89 GPA
Committed to play football on scholarship at the University of Southern California in the fall of 2019.

Katelyn Tuohy: Katelyn Tuohy is the first athlete in the history of the Player of the Year program to hold the national title in two different sports: Girls Cross Country and Girls Track & Field. As just a sophomore, she already holds the record for the fastest 5K ever by a high school girl – indoors or outdoors – with a time of 15:37.12. Katelyn currently owns four national championships in track, including her second straight national title at the New Balance Nationals Outdoor, where she broke the U.S. prep record in the mile with her time of 4:33.87.

First person in program history to win the Gatorade National award in two different sports
Broke 36 year-old national record in the mile by 1.37 seconds (4:33.87)
Broke previous national record in the 1500, 3000, 3200, and 5000m
Nike Cross Nationals Champion
Volunteered locally on behalf of youth soccer and running programs, and the Rose Memorial Library.
4.59 GPA
Only entering her junior year of high school

2018 GATORADE HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETE OF THE YEAR AWARD NOMINEES

The 2017-18 Gatorade National Players of the Year representing six male and six female sports who were nominated for the Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year awards.

NAME	SPORT	HIGH SCHOOL	BOUND FOR…
GIRLS
Thayer Hall	Volleyball	Dorman High School (Roebuck, S.C.)	University of Florida
Katelyn Tuohy*	Cross Country	North Rockland High School (Thiells, N.Y.)	H.S. Junior
Christyn Williams	Basketball	Arkansas Christian High School (North Little Rock, Ark.)	University of Connecticut
Megan Faraimo	Softball	Cathedral Catholic High School (San Diego, Calif.)	University of California Los Angeles
Isabella D'Aquila	Soccer	JSerra Catholic High School (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.)	Santa Clara University
Katelyn Tuohy*	Track & Field	North Rockland High School (Thiells, N.Y.)	H.S. Junior

BOYS
JT Daniels	Football	Mater Dei High School (Santa Ana, Calif.)	University of Southern California
Aidan Troutner	Cross Country	Timpview High School (Provo, Utah)	Brigham Young University
R.J. Barrett	Basketball	Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.)	Duke University
Ryan Weathers	Baseball	Loretto High School (Loretto, Tenn.)	San Diego Padres Organization
Ousseni Bouda	Soccer	Millbrook High School (Millbrook, N.Y.)	Stanford University
Anthony Schwartz	Track & Field	American Heritage School (Plantation, Fla.)	Auburn University

*Katelyn Tuohy is the first athlete in the history of the program to win the Gatorade Player of the Year national title for two different sports, cross country and track & field.

PAST GATORADE HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETE OF THE YEAR AWARD WINNERS

Former winners of Gatorade Male and Female High School Athlete of the Year honorees include:

2003	Male:	LeBron James / Basketball (Akron, Ohio / Los Angeles Lakers)
	Female:	Allyson Felix / Track & Field (Los Angeles / USA Track & Field)

2004	Male:	Dwight Howard / Basketball (Atlanta, Ga. / Washington Wizards)
	Female:	Candace Parker / Basketball (Naperville, Ill. / Los Angeles Sparks)

2005	Male:	Greg Paulus / Football (Syracuse, N.Y. / Ohio State Coaching Staff)
	Female:	Cynthia Barboza / Volleyball (Long Beach, Calif. / Retired Pro Athlete)

2006	Male:	Greg Oden / Basketball (Indianapolis, Ind. / Retired Pro Athlete)
	Female:	Tina Charles / Basketball (New York / New York Liberty)

2007	Male:	Kevin Love / Basketball (Lake Oswego, Ore. / Cleveland Cavaliers)
	Female:	Maya Moore / Basketball (Suwanee, Ga. / Minnesota Lynx)

2008	Male:	Matt Barkley / Football (Santa Ana, Calif. / Cincinnati Bengals)
	Female:	Chanelle Price / Track & Field (Easton, Penn. / USA Track & Field)

2009	Male:	Garrett Gilbert / Football (Austin, Texas / Carolina Panthers)
	Female:	Skylar Diggins / Basketball (South Bend, Ind. / Dallas Wings)

2010	Male:	Brandon Knight (Fort Lauderdale, Fla. / Phoenix Suns)
	Female:	Chiney Ogwumike (Cypress, Texas / Connecticut Sun)

2011	Male:	Dylan Bundy (Owasso, Okla. / Baltimore Orioles)
	Female:	Morgan Brian (St. Simons Island, Ga. / U.S. Women's National Soccer Team)

2012	Male:	Johnathan Gray (Aledo, Texas / University of Texas)
	Female:	Breanna Stewart (Cicero, N.Y. / Seattle Storm)

2013	Male:	Andrew Wiggins (Huntington, W.Va. / Minnesota Timberwolves)
	Female:	Morgan Andrews (Milford, N.H. / Seattle Reign)

2014	Male:	Karl-Anthony Towns (Metuchen, N.J. / Minnesota Timberwolves)
	Female:	Brianna Turner (Manvel, Texas / Notre Dame)

2015	Male:	Kyler Murray (Allen, Texas / University of Oklahoma)
	Female:	Candace Hill (Conyers, Ga. / ASICS Sprinter)

2016	Male:	Jayson Tatum (St. Louis, Mo. / Boston Celtics)
	Female:	Sydney McLaughlin (Scotch Plains, N.J. / University of Kentucky)

2017	Male:	MacKenzie Gore (Whiteville, N.C. / San Diego Padres)
	Female:	Sydney McLaughlin (Scotch Plains, N.J. / University of Kentucky)

For more information on the Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year awards and the Gatorade Player of the Year program, visit www.gatorade.com/poy.

SOURCE The Gatorade Company