California standout named nation's top high school performer RIVERBANK, Calif., June 26
RIVERBANK, Calif., June 26 /PRNewswire/ -- In its third decade of honoring
the nation's best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in partnership
with RISE Magazine, today announced German Fernandez of Riverbank High School
(Riverbank, Calif.) as its 2007-08 Gatorade National Boys Track & Field
Athlete of the Year.
The award, which recognizes not only athletic excellence, but also high
standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and
off the track, distinguishes Fernandez as the nation's best high school boys
track & field athlete. A national advisory board comprised of sportswriters
and sport-specific experts from around the country helped select Fernandez
from the more than 534,000 high school boys track & field athletes nationwide.
Fernandez is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade Male High School
Athlete of the Year award, to be presented at a special afternoon ceremony
prior to The ESPY Awards in July.
The senior distance runner finished the 2008 outdoor season ranked No. 1
in both the 1,600 meters and 3,200 meters among prep competitors nationwide.
At the California Interscholastic Federation State Track & Field
Championships, Fernandez's performance in the 1,600 meters (4:00.29) broke the
California Interscholastic Federation state meet record (4:02.62), set in 2001
by 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials Men's Marathon champion Ryan Hall.
Fernandez's time was only 0.78 seconds away from the National Federation of
High School Athletic Associations record (3:59.51), set in 2001 by the current
American record holder in the mile and 2000-01 Gatorade National Boys Track &
Field Athlete of the Year, Alan Webb.
After a mere two hours of rest following the 1,600-meter race, Fernandez
clocked an 8:34.23 finish in the 3,200 meters, shattering the National
Federation of High School Athletic Associations record (8:41.10), set in 2000
by Dathan Ritzenhein, the runner-up in the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials Men's
Marathon. This performance also broke a hand-timed CIF state meet record
(8:44.9) set by the late Eric Hulst in 1975.
Fernandez recently returned from the 2008 Nike Outdoor Nationals, where he
dominated the 3,200 meters with a first-place time of 8:34.40, crushing a
29-year-old national high school record of 8:36.30 set by Jeff Nelson.
Fernandez's 3K split of 7:59.83 also broke the national record (8:03.67) set
by Galen Rupp in 2004.
Also the 2007-08 Gatorade California Boys Cross Country Runner of the
Year, Fernandez placed first in the 8K race at the USA Cross Country
Championships World Championship Team Qualifier with a time of 24:18. He
finished 25th at the 36th IAAF World Cross Country Championships with a time
of 24:15, leading Team USA to a sixth-place team finish in Edinburgh,
Scotland.
Fernandez has maintained a 3.25 GPA in the classroom. He has donated his
time as a youth basketball coach in addition to serving as a race course
monitor at the annual Riverbank Wine & Cheese Run, a charity race associated
with the ShadowChase Running Club. Fernandez, who works a multi-shift
schedule as a part-time host at the Riverbank Applebee's, has remained an
active peer leader in his school and community despite a demanding, year-round
focus on elite-level distance training.
"German has had a great year, from his fall cross country triumphs to his
World Cross Country Championships performance this past winter, to a string of
impressive doubles on the track in the spring," said Dave Devine, an assistant
editor with DyeStat. "But nothing prepared folks for what he did at the
California state meet. That 4:00.29/8:34.23 double is not only the
performance of the year, it is, without a doubt, the best one-day distance
double in prep history. There are other great runners this year, but German,
on a good day, is on another level."
Fernandez has signed a National Letter of Intent to run at Oklahoma State
University this fall.
"Without question, German is deserving of recognition as the nation's best
high school boys track & field athlete based on his statistics on the track
and the tremendous ability he's demonstrated," said Gatorade Senior Vice
President of Sports Marketing Jeff Urban. "But he is also a shining example
to peers and aspiring young athletes of what a leader and a student-athlete
should be. He represents everything we hope for in a Gatorade Player of the
Year recipient."
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 RISE Magazine, which works with top
sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran
prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.
Former notable Gatorade National Track & Field Athletes of the Year
include:
-- Reigning American record-holder in the mile Alan Webb
-- 2007 Outdoor 400-meter World Champion Kerron Clement
-- 2006 IAAF World Athlete of the Year and 400-meter American
record-holder Sanya Richards
-- Reigning 200-meter world champion Allyson Felix
For more on the Gatorade Player of the Year program, including nomination
information and lists of past winners and future announcement dates, visit
gatorade.com/playeroftheyear.
ALL-TIME GATORADE NATIONAL BOYS TRACK & FIELD ATHLETE OF THE YEAR HONOREES
Year NameHigh SchoolStatus
2007-08 German Fernandez Riverbank, Riverbank, CA High School
Senior
2006-07 Bryshon Nellum Long Beach Poly, Long Beach, CAUSC
2005-06 David KlechCalifornia, San Ramon, CA UCLA
2004-05 Ryan Whiting Central Dauphin, Harrisburg, PAArizona
State Univ.
2003-04 Jason Richardson Cedar Hill, Cedar Hill, TX Univ. of
South
Carolina
2002-03 Kerron Clement La Porte, La Porte TX USA Track &
Field/Nike
2001-02 Brendan Christian Reagan, Austin, TX Univ. of
Houston
Grad.
2000-01 Alan Webb South Lakes, Reston, VAUSA Track &
Field/Nike
1999-00 Donald Sage, Jr. York, Elmhurst, IL Stanford
Univ. Grad.
1998-99 Jacob Freeman Bishop Hendricken, RI Manhattan
College
Grad.
1997-98 Jon StevensMission San Jose, Fremont, CA Stanford
Univ. Grad.
1996-97 Sharif Karie West Springfield, Springfield, VA Univ. of
Arkansas
Grad.
1995-96 Michael Granville Bell Gardens, Bell Gardens, CA UCLA Grad.
1994-95 Michael StemberJesuit, Carmichael, CA USA Track &
Field/Nike
1993-94 Andre ScottSeminole, Sanford, FL Auburn Univ.
Grad.
1992-93 Charles Mitchell Waco High, Waco, TXMississippi
State Univ.
Grad.
1991-92 Sheddric FieldsSouth Oak Cliff, Dallas, TXUniv. of
Houston
Grad.
1990-91 Bryan Bronson Jasper, Jasper, TX Rice Univ.
Grad.
1989-90 Brent Noon Fallbrook, Fallbrook, CA Univ. of
Georgia
Grad.
1988-89 Dion Bentley Penn Hills, Pittsburgh, PA Univ. of
Florida
Grad.
1987-88 Art Skipper, Jr. Sandy, Sandy, OR Deceased
1986-87 Kamy Keshmiri Reno, Reno, NV Univ. of
Nevada
Grad.
1985-86 Eric Mastalir Jesuit, Carmichael, CA Stanford
Univ. Grad.
SOURCE Gatorade
