FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Julie Mason (412-561-1014)
BAYLOR SCHOOL STANDOUT NAMED
GATORADE® TENNESSEE BOYS CROSS COUNTRY RUNNER OF THE YEAR
CHICAGO (January 21, 2010) — In its 25th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade
Company, in collaboration with ESPN RISE, today announced Brandon Lord of Baylor School as its 2009-10 Gatorade
Tennessee Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year. Lord is the second Gatorade Tennessee Boys Cross Country
Runner of the Year to be chosen from Baylor 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 racecourse, distinguishes Lord as Tennessee’s
best high school boys cross country runner. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Boys Cross Country
Runner of the Year award to be announced in January, Lord joins an elite alumni association of past state award
winners in 12 sports, including Ryan Hall (1999-00 & 2000-01, Big Bear HS, Calif.), Derek Jeter (1991-92, Kalamazoo
HS, Mich.), Candace Parker (2001-02, Naperville Central HS, Ill.), Kevin Garnett (1992-93, Maudlin HS, S.C.), Abby
Wambach (1997-98, Our Lady of Mercy, N.Y.) and Mark Sanchez (2004-05, Mission Viejo HS, Calif.).
The 5-foot-9, 140-pound senior raced to his first career Division II-AA state title this past season, breaking the tape with
a time of 15:53.43 and leading the Red Raiders to a fourth-place finish as a team. A two-time First Team All-State
selection, Lord also took fifth place at the Foot Locker South Regional championships, crossing the line in 14:51 to
qualify for the national Foot Locker Cross Country Championships. At Foot Locker, he finished 14th with a time of
15:39.6.
Lord has maintained a 3.78 GPA in the classroom. A member of the National Honor Society, he has volunteered as a
peer tutor and a student leader with the Red Circle, an outreach organization that familiarizes young people and
prospective students with the Baylor School community.
“When Lord lines up, he is just so calm and confident and he backs that up with hard work and determination,” said
Baylor School Head Coach Jan Gautier. “He doesn’t fit that arrogant mold that some athletes have. He’s always trying to
push himself to do better and you never have to ask him to do anything twice.”
Lord has verbally committed to an athletic scholarship at the University of Georgia 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, 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.
Lord joins Gatorade Tennessee Boys Cross Country Runners of the Year Bill Matthews (2008-09, Baylor School) and
Sean Keveren (2007-08, Brentwood) as athletes who have won the cross country award since its inception in 2007.
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
http://playeroftheyear.gatorade.com.
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