Martinez named as Gatorade girls track and field athlete of the year

If someone would like to supply a nice photo from this year, I will gladly add it to this article--thanks!

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 Lauren Martinez of Eldorado High School as its 2013-14 Gatorade New Mexico Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year. Martinez is the second Gatorade New Mexico Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year to be chosen from Eldorado 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 Martinez as New Mexico’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, Martinez 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 5-foot-2 junior won the pole vault with a state-meet record clearance of 12 feet, three inches and took silver in the long jump, soaring 17 feet, 9.75 inches this spring, leading the Eagles to a state championship as a team at the Class AAAAA state meet. She also captured third in the triple jump at states with a leap of 35-6.25. A First Team All-State selection, Martinez’s vault of 13-3 at the Richard Harper Memorial Invitational ranked as the nation’s No. 10 performance among prep competitors in 2014 at the time of her selection.
 
Martinez has maintained a 4.23 GPA in the classroom. Also a one meter diver, she is a member of the National Honor Society and her school’s student government and has volunteered locally on behalf of Best Buddies International.
 
“Lauren Martinez is focused and determined at all times to be the very best student-athlete,” said Eldorado High head coach Kathy Brion. “She is highly supportive of her teammates and is a natural born leader.”
 
Martinez 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.
 
Martinez joins recent Gatorade New Mexico Girls Track & Field Athletes of the Year Jenna Thurman (2012-13, Del Norte High School), Gina Okoye (2011-12, Eldorado High School), Julia Foster (2010 – 11 & 2009-10, Albuquerque Academy), Lesly Torres (2008–09, Los Lunas), Skye Barnett (2007-08, Cibola), and Alexandra Darling (2006-2007, La Cueva) 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.