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Press Release- In its 39th year of honoring the nation's most elite high school athletes, Gatorade
today announced Elizabeth Leachman of Boerne Champion High School is the 2023-24 Gatorade Texas Girls
Cross Country Player of the Year.
Leachman is the first Gatorade Texas Girls Cross Country Player of the Year to be
chosen from Boerne Champion High School.
The award, which celebrates the nation's top high school athletes for excellence on the field, in the classroom and
in the community, distinguishes Leachman as Texas' best high school girls cross country player. From CEOs and
coaches to star athletes, Gatorade Player of the Year winners showcase the power of sport, touting an all-star
group of alumni that includes Irene Riggs (2022-23, 2021-22 & 2020-21, Morgantown High School, Morgantown,
W. Va.), Katelyn Tuohy (2019-20, 2018-19 & 2017-18, North Rockland High School, Thiels, N.Y.) and Jordan Hasay
(2008-09, Mission College Preparatory Catholic High School, San Luis Obispo, Calif.)
The 5-foot-4 sophomore scorched her way to top showings at the most prestigious races in the country this past
season, winning the national Foot Locker Cross Cross Country Championships, the Foot Locker South Region
Championships and the Nike Cross Nationals South Regional Championships, where she clocked a personal-best
time of 16:07.60-the second fastest clocking by an American prep girl in 2023. Leachman also finished 15th and
the NXN Final to earn Third Team All-American honors. She won the UIL Class 5A state title, breaking the tape with
an all-class best 16:25.5.
Also a competitor in the Chargers swim program, Leachman is a devoted member of her church community, on
behalf of which she has participated in multiple community service endeavors. "Elizabeth Leachman pieced
together a near-perfect season in capturing the Foot Locker Nationals crown and adding an All-American
performance at Nike Cross Nationals," said Rich Gonzalez of PrepCalTrack. "Her 11 race victories this season were
among the most in the country, including a dominant performance to win the Class 5A state title by 32 seconds."
Leachman has maintained an A-plus average in the classroom. She 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 Player of the Year Selection
Committee, which leverages experts including coaches, scouts, media and others as sources to help evaluate and
determine the state winners in each sport.
Leachman joins recent Gatorade Texas Girls Cross Country Players of the Year Isabel Conde de Frankenberg (2022-
23, Cedar Park High School), Natalie Cook (2021-22, Flower Mound High School), Brynn Brown (2020-21, Guyer
High School) and Colleen Stegmann (2019-20, Reedy High School), among the state's list of former award winners.
As part of Gatorade's commitment to breaking down barriers in sport, every Player of the Year also receives a grant
to donate to a social impact partner. To date, Gatorade Player of the Year winners' grants have totaled more than
$4.9 million across more than 1,600 organizations.
To learn more about the Gatorade Player of the Year program, check out past winners or to nominate student athletes, visit playeroftheyear.gatorade.com or follow us on social media on Facebook at
facebook.com/GatoradePOY, Instagram at instagram.com/Gatorade and Twitter at twitter.com/Gatorade.
