Jackson Senior Oliver Scofield Named Boys Cross Country Gatorade Runner of the Year

In its 27th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with ESPNHS, announced Oliver Scofield of Jackson Hole HS as its 2011-12 Gatorade Wyoming Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year.

Scofield is the first Gatorade Wyoming Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year to be chosen from Jackson Hole HS.

The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the racecourse, distinguishes Scofield as Wyoming’s best high school boys cross country runner.

Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year award to be announced in January, Scofield joins an elite alumni association of past state award-winners in 12 sports, including Ryan Hall (1999-00, 2000-01, Big Bear HS, Calif.), Derek Jeter (1991-92, Kalamazoo HS, Mich.), Candace Parker (2001-02, Naperville Central HS, Ill.), Kevin Garnett (1992-93, Maudlin HS, S.C.), Abby Wambach (1997-98, Our Lady of Mercy, N.Y.) and Mark Sanchez (2004-05, Mission Viejo HS, Calif.).

The 5-foot-7 senior raced to his second straight Class 3A individual state championship this past season with a time of 16:51.68, leading the Broncs to a state title as a team.

A two-time First Team All-State selection, Scofield earned 67th place in the Nike Cross Nationals Northwest Regional championships, crossing the line in 16:55.5.

Scofield has maintained a 3.95 GPA in the classroom. A member of the National Honor Society and his school’s Model United Nations Club, he has volunteered locally on behalf of the Salvation Army and the Jackson Hole Symphony Orchestra as an usher and stagehand. “Oliver Scofield has helped transform our program into one that competes for state titles and is actively pursuing more regional recognition,” said Jackson Hole head coach Jeff Brazil. “He has done this through vocal leadership and action that has drawn his teammates into the love of running and competition.”

Scofield remains undecided upon a collegiate destination.

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 ESPNHS and the Gatorade high school sports leadership team, 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. Scofield joins Gatorade Wyoming Boys Cross Country Runners of the Year Alex Sorensen (2010-11, Evanston High School), Spencer Pecha (2009-10, Campbell County) and Dominick Robinson (2008-09, 2007-08, Campbell County) as athletes who have won the cross country award since its inception in 2007.