FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Julie Mason (412-561-1014)
MIDPARK HIGH SCHOOL STANDOUT NAMED GATORADE OHIO GIRLS TRACK & FIELD ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
CHICAGO (June 24, 2010) — In its 25th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with ESPN RISE, today announced Kaila Barber of Midpark High School as its 2009-10 Gatorade Ohio Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year. Barber is the first Gatorade Ohio Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year to be chosen from Midpark 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 track, distinguishes Barber as Ohio’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, Barber joins an elite alumni association of state award-winners in 12 sports, including Allyson Felix (2001-02, Los Angeles Baptist, 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.), Mark Sanchez (2004-05, Mission Viejo HS, Calif.), Lolo Jones (1997-98, Roosevelt HS, Iowa) and Bianca Knight (2006-07, Ridgeland HS, Miss.).
The 5-foot-7 junior won the 300-meter intermediate hurdles and the long jump at the Div. I state meet this past spring and finished third in the 100-meter dash, leading the Meteors to third place as a team. Barber leapt 19 feet, 8.25 inches in the long jump, the No. 5 distance in the country among prep competitors at the time of her selection, and broke the tape in the 300 hurdles with a time of 42.04 seconds. Her season-best clocking of 40.88 in the 300 hurdles is the third-fastest in the nation to date.
Barber has maintained a weighted 4.63 GPA in the classroom. An active member of the Key Club, she has volunteered locally on behalf of animal rescue efforts, youth sports programs and a fundraising campaign to benefit the needy in El Salvador.
“Kaila is an absolutely selfless athlete,” said Midpark head coach Rick Mack. “She will compete in any event at any time, and her quiet diligence inspires those around her.”
Barber 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 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.
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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