BEREA HIGH SCHOOL STANDOUT NAMED GATORADE OHIO BOYS TRACK & FIELD ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

CHICAGO (June 21, 2012) — In its 27th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with ESPNHS, today announced Donovan Robertson of Berea High School as its 2011-12 Gatorade Ohio Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year. Robertson is the first Gatorade Ohio Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year to be chosen from Berea 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 Robertson as Ohio’s best high school boys track & field athlete. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year award to be announced in June, Robertson joins an elite alumni association of state award-winners in 12 sports, including Ryan Hall (1999-01, Big Bear HS, Calif.), Meb Keflezighi (1993-94, San Diego HS, Calif.), Derek Jeter (1991-92, Kalamazoo HS, Mich.), Candace Parker (2001-02, Naperville Central HS, Ill.), Mark Sanchez (2004-05, Mission Viejo HS, Calif.) and Lolo Jones (1997-98, Roosevelt HS, Ia.).

The 6-foot senior won the 110-meter high hurdles with a time of 13.66 seconds and the 300-meter intermediate hurdles in 35.96 at the Division I state championship meet this spring. The state’s returning Gatorade Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year, Robertson also won both hurdling events at the Midwest Meet of Champions, and his season-best times in the 110-meter hurdles, the 300-meter hurdles and the 400-meter hurdles all ranked among the nation’s top three performances by prep competitors in 2012 at the time of his selection.

Robertson has maintained a 3.66 GPA in the classroom. Also a talented musician, he has volunteered locally on behalf of a youth soccer program, and has assisted sports medicine patients at an area hospital.

“Donovan has been a leader since he stepped on the track at Berea,” said Berea High Head Coach Ryan Nigro. “He’s not only blessed with extraordinary physical skills, but his ability to mentally process the mechanics of the hurdles sets him apart from his peers.”
Robertson has signed a National Letter of Intent to compete in track and field on scholarship at Ohio State University 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 ESPNHS 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.

Two-time winner Robertson joins recent Gatorade Ohio Boys Track & Field Athletes of the Year Justin Welch (2009-10, Eastwood), Danny Neff (2008-09, Butler), and Cory Leslie (2007-08, Perkins) among the state’s list of former award winners.

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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