Cheyenne East sophomore runner Maggie Madsen was chosen as the Gatorade Wyoming Girls Cross County Player of the Year award winner for the 2024-25 year on Thursday. Madsen is the first winner from the Thunderbirds program chosen for the Gatorade honor. Madsen is now a finalist for the Gatorade National Cross County Player of the Year award, which will be announced later this month.

In its 40th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company announced Madsen’s award via a press release. The honor recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field and distinguishes Madsen as Wyoming’s best high school girls’ cross-country runner.

The 5-4 sophomore won the Class 4A state cross-country championship last fall in Cheyenne. Her time was 18:26.4. She won that race by nearly 24 seconds over the defending 4A champion. Madsen placed seventh at the Nike Cross Nationals Northwest Regional last November. She ran a personal best at 17:41.50. Maggie won eight of the ten races she competed in last fall. Madsen was the top Wyoming finisher at the Dave Sanders Invitational in Colorado. She placed fourth.

In a release from The Gatorade Company, Rich Gonzalez of PrepCalTrack said Madsen’s strong sophomore campaign provides a foundation for a great future.

“Madsen won eight of 10 races and clocked the state’s fastest girls 5K in 2024. She also capped her season as an individual state champion.”

Madsen maintains a weighted 4.11 GPA in the classroom. A member of the Cheyenne Mayor’s Youth Council, Maggie has volunteered locally on behalf of the Cheyenne Youth Day of Giving, the Greenway Cleanup, the Botanic Gardens and Needs Inc. She has also donated her time as a track meet assistant and by fundraising for Friday Food Bags.

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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, the Gatorade Player of the Year program has provided more than $5.6 million in grants to winners across more than 2,000 organizations.

Madsen joins Madison Antonino of Jackson (2023-24), Sydney Morrell from Cheyenne Central (2022-23), and Kate Brigham of Jackson (2021-22), as recent Gatorade Wyoming Girls Cross County Player of the Year award winners.

*Information from a press release from the Gatorade Company was used in this story.

2024 State Cross Country-4A Girls

2024 State Cross Country-4A Girls

Gallery Credit: Frank Gambino

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