Kemmerer senior Owen Burnett was chosen as the 2022-23 Gatorade Wyoming Boys Cross Country Player of the Year on Monday.

Burnett competes for Mountain View High School during the cross-country season and is the first winner from MVHS.

Burnett won the Class 3A state championship last fall. He crossed the finish line with a time of 16:04.37. That was almost 33 seconds ahead of the second-place runner. Burnett’s performance helped the Buffalos win the team title, as well. He won six of the eight meets he entered in the fall 2022 season and did not lose to an in-state runner. Burnett finished his year with a personal-best time of 15:38.5 at the Nike Cross Nationals Northwest Regional in Boise, ID, where he placed 21st.

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PrepCalTrack’s Rich Gonzalez was very complimentary about Burnett in the release from The Gatorade Company.

“Owen Burnett concluded his prep career on a high note, winning a second straight state title and finishing unbeaten against in-state competition. He was Wyoming’s fastest competitor at the Nike Cross Northwest Regional championships and he’ll bring an impressive turnover rate to the Cowboys’ roster this fall, having clocked a sub-16 time in the 5,000 on the outdoor track as a junior.”

Burnett has maintained a 3.98 GPA in the classroom. He has already signed his National Letter of Intent to run at the University of Wyoming this fall.

A senior patrol leader in his Boy Scouts Troop, Burnett has volunteered locally on behalf of multiple community service initiatives in association with Scouts BSA. In addition, he has mentored peers about their roles and responsibilities as Scout members. Also, a Junior Ski Patrolman at Pine Creek Ski Resort, Burnett has, as a member of the National Honor Society, donated his time to two highway cleanup projects, an angel tree fundraiser, a Color-A-Thon fundraiser run, and a project that designed and constructed a new entry sign for Kemmerer.

This is the 38th year The Gatorade Company is honoring the nation’s best high school athletes. This award recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field. It distinguishes Burnett as Wyoming’s best high school boys’ cross-country runner. He is now a finalist for Gatorade National Boys Cross Country Player of the Year. That will be announced next month.

Burnett joins Jackson’s Mason Wheeler (2021-22) and Peter Visser from Star Valley (2020-21, 2019-20, 2018-19), among the state’s list of former award winners.

Being a Gatorade Player of the Year means paying it forward for the next generation. Through Gatorade’s Play it Forward initiative, every Player of the Year receives a grant to give to one of Gatorade’s social impact partners, supporting Gatorade’s ambition to fuel the future of sport. To date, Gatorade Player of the Year winners’ grants has totaled more than $3.5 million across more than 1,300 organizations.

Information from a press release issued by The Gatorade Company was used in this story.

3A Boys State Cross Country

3A Boys State Cross Country

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