OTTAWA HIGH SCHOOL STANDOUT NAMED
GATORADE KANSAS BOYS TRACK & FIELD ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
CHICAGO (June 20, 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 Kord Ferguson of Ottawa High
School as its 2013-14 Gatorade Kansas Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year. Ferguson is the first Gatorade Kansas
Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year to be chosen from Ottawa 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 Ferguson as Kansas’s best
high school boys track & field athlete. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Boys Track & Field Athlete
of the Year award to be announced in June, Ferguson joins an elite alumni association of state award-winners in 12
sports, including Ryan Hall (1999-01, Big Bear HS, Calif.), Meb Keflezighi (1993-94, San Diego HS, Calif.), Derek Jeter
(1991-92, Kalamazoo HS, Mich.), Candace Parker (2001-02, Naperville Central HS, Ill.), Mark Sanchez (2004-05,
Mission Viejo HS, Calif.) and Lolo Jones (1997-98, Roosevelt HS, Ia.).
The 6-foot-6, 230-pound senior won the discus with a throw of 206 feet, 2 inches and the shot put with a distance of 64-
7.5 at the Class 4A state championship meet this spring. The state’s returning Gatorade Boys Track and Field Athlete of
the Year, Ferguson also swept both events at the Kansas Relays and the Great Southwest Classic, and his season-best
efforts of 67-10 in the shot put and 210-3 in the discus both ranked as the nation’s No. 2 performances among prep
competitors in 2014 at the time of his selection.
Ferguson has maintained a 3.27 GPA in the classroom. Also a football standout, he has volunteered locally assisting the
elderly and coaching youth athletes.
“Kord’s accomplishments are the result of his hard work and dedication to the sport,” said Ottawa head coach Mark
Laws. “He has become a positive leader for all people who have had the opportunity to know him.”
Ferguson has signed a National Letter of Intent to compete in track and field on scholarship at Wichita State University
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.
Two-time winner Ferguson joins Gatorade Kansas Boys Track & Field Athletes of the Year Jonny Giess (2011-12, Blue
Valley Northwest High School), Macauley Garton (2010 – 11, Mill Valley High School), Johannes Swanepoel (2009-10,
Shawnee Mission South), Adonis Saunders (2008–09, Olathe North), John Talbert (2007-08, Kansas City East Christian
Academy), and Iain Trimble (2006-2007, Shawnee Heights) 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.