FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Julie Mason (412-561-1014)
Josh Holland (312-932-2823)
Maryville High School STANDOUT NAMED
GATORADE Tennessee BOYS TRACK & FIELD ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
CHICAGO (June 23, 2009) — In its third decade of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in partnership with ESPN RISE, today announced Jordan Chaney of Maryville High School as its 2008-09 Gatorade Tennessee Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year. Chaney is the first Gatorade Tennessee Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year to be chosen from Maryville 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 Chaney as Tennessee’s best high school boys track & field athlete. Chaney is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year award to be announced in June.
The 6-foot, 149-pound senior won the 1600-meter run with a time of 4:13.19 and placed second in the 800-meter run in 1:51.83 at the Class AAA state meet this spring, leading the Rebels to fourth place as a team. Chaney’s second-place effort in the 800 at the state meet ranked No. 23 in the nation among prep competitors at the time of his selection. He also ranked No. 56 with his state-title-winning time in the 1600. Chaney is the school record-holder in both the 800 and the 1600.
Chaney has maintained a 3.24 GPA in the classroom. Having served a two-year term as vice president of the Maryville High Student Council, Chaney has also volunteered locally as a mentor to area youths.
“Jordan didn’t have a breakout year, he broke the door down, he kicked the house in, he just ran roughshod over people,” said former Maryville High Coach Mac Pickle. “We had something special on our hands with Jordan.”
Chaney has signed a National Letter of Intent to compete on an athletic scholarship at the University of Tennessee beginning 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. The selection process is administered by ESPN RISE, which works with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.
Chaney joins recent Gatorade Tennessee Boys Track & Field Athletes of the Year Sean Keveren (2007-08, Brentwood), Ben Davies (2006-07, Brentwood Academy), and Rob Sorrell (2005-06, Bolton) among the state’s list of former award winners.
For more on the Gatorade Player of the Year program, including nomination information, a list of past winners, and the announcement of the Gatorade National Player of the Year, visit gatorade.com/playeroftheyear.
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