Aisling Cuffe is the Gatorade National Girls Cross Country Runner of the year for 2010-11, release, note by Larry Eder

Gatorade® National Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year:

Aisling Cuffe

Gold Medalist and
Former Gatorade Female High School Athlete of the Year

Allyson Felix
Surprises Standout with Elite Honor

New Windsor, N.Y. (Feb. 1, 2011) –
In its 26^th year of honoring the nation’s best high school
athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with ESPN RISE, today
announced Aisling Cuffe of Cornwall Central High
School (New Windsor, N.Y.) as its 2010-11 Gatorade National Girls Cross
Country Runner of the Year.  Cuffe was
surprised with the news during her sixth period class by professional runner and
Summer Games gold medalist Allyson Felix, who won the Gatorade National Girls
Track & Field Athlete of the Year award in 2002-03, then captured Gatorade
Female High School Athlete of the Year honors in 2003.

“When I received the award in 2003, it
was such a pivotal moment for me as an athlete.  I’m grateful to be a part of this moment for Aisling, who is truly
a phenomenal student-athlete on and off the racecourse,” said Felix, a seven-time
IAAF World Champion.  “Gatorade has
been on the sidelines fueling athletic performance for years, so to be
recognized by a brand that understands the game and truly helps athletes
perform is a huge honor for these kids.”

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 Cuffe as the nation’s best high school girls cross country runner.  A national advisory panel comprised of
sport-specific experts and sports journalists helped select Cuffe from nearly
202,000 girls cross country runners nationwide. Cuffe is now a finalist for the
prestigious Gatorade Female High School Athlete of the Year award, to be
presented at a special ceremony prior to The ESPY Awards in July.

The 5-foot-4
senior enjoyed an unbeaten season and raced to the national title at the Foot
Locker Cross Country Championships this past fall with a time of 16:53,
breaking the tape 34 seconds ahead of her next-closest competitor. The state’s
returning Gatorade Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year, Cuffe captured the
Class A state title in 17:19.6 and won the all-class New York Federation
Championship with a course-record time of 17:17. She added victories at the
Great American Cross Country Festival, the Manhattan Invitational and the Foot
Locker Northeast Regional championships (in 17:51).

 Cuffe has
maintained an A average in the classroom. A four-year member of the Cornwall
Central Math Team and its returning high-scorer, Cuffe has donated her time to
and fund-raised for multiple local and national community-service initiatives
in association with her school’s Key Club chapter. Also a member of the
National Honor Society, she has volunteered on behalf of area youth road races
and track invitational meets.

“Aisling Cuffe more than fulfilled expectations as the top
returner at Foot Locker nationals, tearing through her regular season
undefeated and then triumphing in San Diego with disarming ease,” said ESPN
RISE/Dyestat Senior Editor Dave Devine. “Her 34-second margin of victory at
Foot Locker over Nike Cross Nationals Final champion Rachel Johnson was the
race’s largest since 2001, and only emphasized Cuffe’s status as the top girl
in the nation this fall.”

Cuffe, who is just the third female student-athlete
from the state of New York to ever win Gatorade National Player of the Year
honors in any sport, has verbally committed to an athletic scholarship at
Stanford University beginning this fall.

“Without question, Aisling  is deserving of recognition as the nation’s best high school girls
cross country runners based on her statistics on the racecourse and the impact
her accomplishments have had on Cornwall Central’s  success,” said Gatorade Senior Vice President of Sports Marketing
Jennifer Storms.  “But she is
also a shining example to peers and aspiring young athletes of what a leader
and a student-athlete should be.  She
represents everything we hope for in a Gatorade Runner of the Year recipient.”

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 ESPN RISE 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.

Former
notable Gatorade National Players of the Year include:

·      
Super Bowl
Most Valuable Player Peyton Manning

·      
WNBA
all-time leading scorer and rebounder Lisa Leslie

·      
Current
American Mile Record-Holder Alan Webb

·      
Kansas City
Royals Cy Young award-winner Zach Grienke

For
more information on the Gatorade Player of the Year program, including
nomination information, a complete list of former winners, and future
announcement dates, visit the Gatorade Player of the Year Web site at http://playeroftheyear.gatorade.com,
on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GatoradePOY or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Gatorade.

ALL-TIME GATORADE
NATIONAL GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY RUNNERS OF THE YEAR

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