In its 31st year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with USA TODAY High School Sports, announced Brody Smith of Cody High School, as its 2015-16 Gatorade Wyoming Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year.

Smith is the first Gatorade Wyoming Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year to be chosen from Cody 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 Smith as Wyoming’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, Smith 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 5-foot-9, 135-pound senior distance talent captured three individual titles at the Class 3A state meet this spring, leading the the Broncs to a second-place finish as a team.

Smith capped off an undefeated regular season by winning the 800-meter run with a time of 1:53.84 in addition to breaking the tape in the 1600-meter run (4:22.17) and the 3200-meter run (9:38.19).

Also the state’s two-time Gatorade Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year, he won the mile at the Great Southwest Classic (4:10.70) and earned fourth-place in the 1600 at the Nike Festival of Miles with a time of 4:07.48.

The NFM clocking ranked as the nation’s No. 15 performance among prep competitors in 2016 at the time of his selection.

His season-best mile (4:09.21) ranked No. 27.

Smith has maintained a 3.82 GPA in the classroom.

A member of the National Honor Society as well as his school’s Teen Leadership Coalition, he has volunteered locally as a math tutor and has donated his time raking leaves for the elderly.

“Brody Smith is intrinsically motivated to be the best he can be,” said Cody head track coach Bret Engdahl. “He has to train almost completely solo since no one else on the team is close to his training or racing paces. He does well because he is so mentally tough.”

Smith has signed a National Letter of Intent to compete on an athletic scholarship at Utah 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 the Gatorade high school sports leadership team in partnership with USA TODAY High School Sports, 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.

Smith joins recent Gatorade Wyoming Boys Track & Field Athletes of the Year Chase Andersen (2014-15, Natrona County High School), Joey Czellecz (2013-14 & 2012-13, Kelly Walsh High School), Kevin Allen (2011-12, Upton High School), Justin Melton (2010–11, Douglas High School), Caleb Her Many Horses (2009-10, Wyoming Indian High School), Dominick Robinson (2008–09, Campbell County High School), Stephen Michel (2007-08, Laramie High School), and Brendan Ames (2006-07, Cheyenne Central High School) among the state’s list of former award winners.

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