Two east Idaho students recognized by Gatorade for being ‘outstanding athletes’
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IDAHO FALLS — Two students from Idaho Falls School District 91 were recognized by Gatorade as some of the most outstanding high school athletes for cross country in the state of Idaho.
In its 37th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, Gatorade announced 15-year-old Luke Athay from Idaho Falls High School is the 2021-22 “Gatorade Idaho Boys Cross Country Player of the Year.” Nelah Roberts, 15, from Skyline High School is the 2021-22 “Gatorade Idaho Girls Cross Country Player of the Year.”
According to a press release from Gatorade, “The award…recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field.”
“It’s really cool. Obviously, there’s a lot of really other great runners in the state that I was able to compete with this year and to be able to be recognized and selected as being one of the best, it’s definitely very rewarding,” Luke told EastIdahoNews.com. “I’m very grateful for the experiences and opportunities that people have helped me get here. It’s super cool and I am super proud of it.”
Luke won the Class 5A state meet this past season with a time of 15:19.83, breaking the tape 17.2 seconds ahead of his next-closest competitor and leading the Idaho Falls High School Tigers to a second-place finish as a team. Luke ran a 5k during that race. Click here to read all about Luke’s accomplishments on Gatorade’s website.
Luke explained that his entire season has been surprising and he felt honored to receive recognition from Gatorade. He loves to run.
“It’s therapeutic for me. It allows me to be able to get out and be active. It’s a way to clear my head and it makes me feel happier a lot, so I love running. I love racing. It’s always super fun to be able to compete against other people,” said Luke. “Also, I have a great team and it’s a great environment. Cross country has brought me a lot of friends and a lot of support and amazing people in my life that I would never look back and regret anything about it.”
Luke plans to keep running in high school. He said running in college has always been a dream and goal of his. He’s grateful to his coaches and everyone who has supported him.
He has maintained a 4.0 GPA in his classroom and has volunteered locally with Hope Squad, a program designed to help with suicide prevention.
Luke and Nelah have both been at the same cross country competitions together.
“I was just super grateful to Gatorade for considering me for the award. It just made me realize all the opportunities that I have been given living in Idaho and just doing so well and having good coaches and people around me to help me get this far,” Nelah told EastIdahoNews.com. “It’s just another thing to add to my resume that I have accomplished. I owe it to so many other people. I’m just so grateful to Gatorade for the honor.”
The sophomore won the Class 4A state meet this past season with a time of 17:53.3, breaking the tape 27.9 seconds ahead of her next-closest competitor and leading the Skyline High School Grizzlies to a third-place finish as a team. Nelah ran a 5k during that race. Click here to read about her accomplishments on Gatorade’s website.
Nelah has loved participating in sports but said cross country is unlike any other sport she has been a part of.
“I have gotten so close to everyone on my team. You can’t really get that with any other sport,” she said.
Nelah explained she is excited for her future with running and has big goals.
“Hopefully I can get recruits at some college. I’d really like to run in college and I think the Olympics would be really cool too but it’s just taking one step at a time but (I am) definitely (running) beyond high school,” she said.
Nelah has maintained a 3.95 GPA in the classroom and she helps with her family’s business of breeding Bernese Mountain Dogs.
The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that have 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.
According to Gatorade, 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.
Both Luke and Nelah are finalists for the prestigious Gatorade National Cross Country Player of the Year Award in their respective categories for boys and girls.