Garrett Gilbert and Skylar Diggins Named Gatorade High School Athletes of the Year

Gilbert and Diggins received their awards at a luncheon emceed by ESPN's Stuart Scott and attended by Matthew Stafford of the Detroit Lions (2005-06 Gatorade Texas Football Player of the Year), Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder, AVP and Olympic Star Misty-May Treanor, and gold medal-winner Jessica Mendoza.

For more than 40 years, Gatorade has helped athletes perform at their best, and in 1985, introduced the Gatorade Player of the Year award which was one of the first national awards to honor high school athletes for their athletic excellence, academic achievement and exemplary character. In 2003, the Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year awards were established to identify and honor the nation's top overall male and female high school athlete from among the 12 Gatorade National Players of the Year honored during the high school athletic season.

All Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year nominees will walk the ESPY red carpet and be featured as special guests during The ESPY Awards Show. The show will take place this evening and air on ESPN on Sunday, July 19, at 9:00 p.m. EDT.

"The Gatorade Athlete of the Year Awards stand apart in that they honor those who are not only the best on the field of play, but are also proven performers academically, and actively give back to their communities," said Sarah Robb O'Hagan, chief marketing officer of Gatorade. "Garrett and Skylar are outstanding examples of what a leader and a student-athlete should be."

2009 GATORADE HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETE OF THE YEAR AWARD WINNERS

Garrett Gilbert: A returning Class 4A First Team All-State selection as named by the Texas Sports Writers Association, he completed 895-of-1,370 passes for 12,535 yards and 136 touchdowns in his career. In the state championship win over Longview, Gilbert broke the state record for career passing yards, eclipsing former Ennis High and current Texas Tech senior quarterback Graham Harrell's old mark of 12,532 yards. He ranks second in the state all-time in career passing touchdowns, passing attempts and passing completions. The son of former NFL quarterback Gale Gilbert, Garrett has maintained a 3.78 GPA in the classroom. He has volunteered extensively as part of the Lake Hills Church community's vacation bible school and weekly youth group, as well as for Lake Travis Pop Warner Football and the Lake Travis Youth Association.

• 2009 PARADE Player of the Year
• 2009 USA Today Offensive Player of the Year
• 2008-09 EA Sports Mr. Football
• 2009 Under Armour All-American
• 2009 U.S. Army All-American Bowl nominee
• 2008 Associated Press Texas Class 4A Offensive Player of the Year
• 2008 Elite 11 Quarterback Camp selection
• 2009 MaxPreps Male Athlete of the Year
• 2009 Texas State 4A Player of the Year
  

Skylar Diggins: The 5-foot-10 senior guard led the Panthers to a 26-1 record and a runner-up finish in the Class 4A state tournament, where they fell to the nation's No. 1-ranked team, Ben Davis of Indianapolis, 71-69. This season, Diggins averaged a state-best 29.0 points per game, along with 6.3 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 5.4 steals and 2.2 blocked shots. A two-time Gatorade Indiana Girls Basketball Player of the Year, Diggins led the Panthers to state championship games in four consecutive years, including Washington's title-winning season of 2007. A McDonald's All-American Game selection, she finished her career with 2,790 points--the third-highest girls' scoring total in Indiana history--for an average of 25.9 points per game. Diggins has maintained a 3.91 GPA in the classroom and has volunteered with the national Young Life ministry, and has participated in youth empowerment, leadership and educational-enrichment programs on behalf of her school's Girlfriends Group, as well as the national Educational Talent Search and Project Excel programs.

• 2009 Naismith Prep Player of the Year
• 2009 USA Today All-USA First Team
• Sporting News First Team All-American
• 2009 ESPN HoopGurlz National Player of the Year
• 2009 MaxPreps National Player of the Year
• 2009 McDonald's All-American Game selection
• Co-MVP 2009 McDonald's All-American Game
• 2009 PARADE First Team All-American
• 2009 National High School Coaches Association Senior Athlete of the Year, Girls Basketball
  

2009 GATORADE HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETE OF THE YEAR AWARD NOMINEES

The 2008-09 Gatorade National Players of the Year (see below) representing six male and six female sports were nominees for the Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year awards.

    SPORT       NAME             HIGH SCHOOL              BOUND FOR ...
    -----       ----             -----------              ----------


    FEMALE
    Volleyball  Gina Mancuso     Papillion-La Vista       University of
                                 High School              Nebraska
                                 (Papillion, NE)

    Cross       Jordan Hasay     Mission College Prep     Undecided
    Country                      (San Luis Obispo, CA)

    Basketball  Skylar Diggins   Washington High School   University of
                                 (South Bend, IN)         Notre Dame

    Soccer      Rachel Quon      Lake Forest High School  Stanford
                                 (Lake Forest, IL)        University

    Softball    Kenzie Fowler    Canyon del Oro           University of
                                 High School              Arizona
                                 (Oro Valley, AZ)

    Track &     Anna Jelmini     Shafter High School      Arizona State
    Field                        (Shafter, CA)            University


    MALE
    Football    Garrett Gilbert  Lake Travis              University
                                 High School              of Texas
                                 (Austin, TX)

    Cross       Reed Connor      The Woodlands            Undecided
    Country                      High School
                                 (The Woodlands, TX)

    Basketball  Brandon Knight   Pine Crest School        Senior in
                                 (Fort Lauderdale, FL)    High School

    Soccer      Dillon Powers    Plano Senior             University of
                                 High School              Notre Dame
                                 (Plano, TX)

    Baseball    Matt Hobgood     Norco High School        Baltimore Orioles
                                 (Norco, CA)              Org.

    Track &     Curtis Beach     Albuquerque Academy      Duke University
    Field                        (Albuquerque, N.M.)



    PAST GATORADE HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETE OF THE YEAR AWARD WINNERS
    -----------------------------------------------------------
    Former winners of Gatorade Male and Female High School Athlete of the
    Year honors include:

    2003     Male:    LeBron James / Basketball (Arkron, OH / Cleveland
                      Cavaliers)
             Female:  Allyson Felix / Track & Field (Los Angeles, CA / USA
                      Track & Field)

    2004     Male:    Dwight Howard / Basketball (Atlanta, GA / Orlando Magic)
             Female:  Candace Parker / Basketball (Naperville, IL / Los
                      Angeles Sparks)

    2005     Male:    Greg Paulus / Football (Syracuse, NY / Syracuse
                      University)
             Female:  Cynthia Barboza / Volleyball (Long Beach, CA / USA
                      Volleyball)

    2006     Male:    Greg Oden / Basketball (Indianapolis, IN / Portland
                      Trailblazers)
             Female:  Tina Charles / Basketball (New York, NY / University of
                      Connecticut)

    2007     Male:    Kevin Love / Basketball (Lake Oswego, OR / Minnesota
                      Timberwolves)
             Female:  Maya Moore / Basketball (Suwanee, GA / University of
                      Connecticut)

    2008     Male:    Matt Barkley / Football (Santa Ana, CA / University of
                      Southern California)
             Female:  Chanelle Price / Track & Field (Easton, PA / University
                      of Tennessee)

For more information on the Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year awards and the Gatorade Player of the Year program, visit www.gatorade.com/playeroftheyear.