MAIZE HIGH SCHOOL HIGH SCHOOL STANDOUT NAMED
GATORADE KANSAS GIRLS TRACK & FIELD ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
CHICAGO (June 19, 2014) — In its 29th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade
Company, in collaboration with USA TODAY High School Sports, today announced Keiryn Swenson of Maize High
School as its 2013-14 Gatorade Kansas Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year. Swenson is the first Gatorade Kansas
Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year to be chosen from Maize High School.
The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic
achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the track, distinguishes Swenson as Kansas’s best
high school girls track & field athlete. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Girls Track & Field Athlete
of the Year award to be announced in June, Swenson joins an elite alumni association of state award-winners in 12
sports, including Allyson Felix (2001-02, Los Angeles Baptist, Calif.), Derek Jeter (1991-92, Kalamazoo HS, Mich.),
Candace Parker (2001-02, Naperville Central HS, Ill.), Abby Wambach (1997-98, Our Lady of Mercy, N.Y.), Mark
Sanchez (2004-05, Mission Viejo HS, Calif.), Lolo Jones (1997-98, Roosevelt HS, Ia.) and Bianca Knight (2006-07,
Ridgeland HS, Miss.).
The 6-foot-2 junior hurled the javelin 148 feet, 4 inches to win the Class 6A state championship this spring. Swenson
also won the javelin throw at the Great Southwest Classic and her season-best winning effort of 155-2 at the Kansas
Relays ranked as the nation’s No. 7 performance among prep competitors in 2014 at the time of her selection.
Swenson has maintained a 4.06 GPA in the classroom. Also a basketball and volleyball standout, she is a member of
both the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Students Against Destructive Decisions. Swenson has also raised funds for
cancer research and volunteered locally on behalf of a youth volleyball program.
“Keiryn is a great athlete and a fantastic kid,” said Dana Handy, head coach at Maize High. “She keeps throwing a little
bit further each year, and this year she finally got over the hump. She just missed the state record. I’m sure that will be a
goal next year.”
Swenson will begin her senior year of high school this fall.
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 the Gatorade high school sports leadership team in partnership with
USA TODAY High School Sports, 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.
Swenson joins recent Gatorade Kansas Girls Track & Field Athletes of the Year Alexa Harmon-Thomas (2012-13, Free
State High School), Alli Cash (2011-12, Shawnee Mission West High School), Megan Smith (2010 – 11, Olathe South
High School), Kearsten Peoples (2009-10, Ottawa), Heather Bergmann (2008–09 Concordia), and Roxi Grizzle (2007-08
& 2006-2007, Tonganoxie) among the state’s list of former award winners.
To keep up to date on the latest happenings, become a fan of Gatorade Player of the Year on Facebook and follow us
on Twitter. For more on the Gatorade Player of the Year program, including nomination information, a complete list of
past winners and the announcement of the Gatorade National Player of the Year, visit www.gatorade.com/poy.