Killebrew most recently competed at USA Junior Champs finishing 7th in the 200
PRESS RELEASE:
CHICAGO (June 21, 2018) - In its 33rd year of honoring the nation's best high school athletes, The Gatorade
Company, today announced Semira Killebrew of Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School as its 2017-18 Gatorade Indiana
Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year. Killebrew is the second Gatorade Indiana Girls Track & Field Athlete of the
Year to be chosen from Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory 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 track, distinguishes Killebrew as Indiana's best
high school girls track & field athlete. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Girls Track & Field Athlete of
the Year award to be announced in June, Killebrew joins an elite alumni association of state track & field awardwinners,
including Lolo Jones (1997-98, Roosevelt High School, Iowa), Allyson Felix (2002-03, Los Angeles Baptist
High School, Calif.), Robert Griffin III (2006-07, Copperas Cove High School, Texas), Grant Fisher (2013-14 & 2014-
15, Grand Blanc High School, Mich.) and Candace Hill (2014-15, Rockdale County High School, Ga.).
The 5-foot junior broke the tape in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.55 seconds at the state meet this past season,
leading the Braves to a second-place finish as a team. Killebrew also anchored the winning 4x100 relay quartet and
placed fourth in the 200. Her winning time in the 100 ranked as the nation's No. 10 performance among prep
competitors in 2018 at the time of her selection.
Killebrew has volunteered locally on behalf of the Wheeler Mission homeless shelter, the Special Olympics and the
O'Connor House, a shelter for pregnant women. "Semira's state championship in the 100-meter dash, her gutsy comefrom-behind
anchor in the 400-meter relay and her everything-she-had-left to place fourth in the 200 was just
incredible," said Brebeuf Jesuit coach Karl Knerr. "I've never worked with a more driven and focused student-athlete.
She is a once-in-a-coach's-lifetime athlete."
Killebrew has maintained a 3.61 GPA in the classroom. She will begin her senior 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 Player of the Year Selection Committee, 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.
Killebrew joins recent Gatorade Indiana Girls Track & Field Athletes of the Year Lynna Irby (2016-17, 2015-16 & 2014-
15, Pike High School), Symone Black (2013-14, Concordia Lutheran High School), Brittany Neeley (2012-13, Eastern
High School), Skyler Carpenter (2011-12, Westview High School), Tori Bliss (2010-11, Portage High School), Ellie
McCardwell (2009-10 & 2008-09, Pendleton Heights High School), Alex Banfich (2007-08, Culver Academies), and
Katie Veith (2006-07, Homestead High School) among the state's list of former award winners.
As a Gatorade Player of the Year, Killebrew will be able to select a national or local youth sports organization to receive
a grant as part of the Gatorade Play It Forward program. Every Gatorade Player of the Year state winner receives a
$1,000 grant to donate and will have the opportunity to enter for an additional $10,000 spotlight grant by writing a brief
essay explaining why their selected organization deserves additional support. 12 spotlight grants - one for each sport -
will be announced throughout the year.
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 www.gatorade.com/poy.