CHICAGO (January 22, 2016) -- In its 31st year of honoring the nation's best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with USA TODAY High School Sports, today announced Brodey Hasty of Brentwood High School as its 2015-16 Gatorade Tennessee Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year. Hasty is the second Gatorade Tennessee Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year to be chosen from Brentwood 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 racecourse, distinguishes Hasty 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, Hasty 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-3, 130-pound sophomore won the Division I-Class AAA individual championship this past season with a time of 15:35, leading the Bruins to a state title as a team. The 2015 Tennessean Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year, Hasty won the Nike Cross Nationals Southeast Regional championships, breaking the tape in 14:55.8. He went on to compete at the Nike Cross Nationals Final, where he took seventh in 15:15.5.
Hasty has maintained a 3.02 GPA in the classroom. He has volunteered locally as a peer tutor and as a youth track & field coach.
"I don't think I have ever seen Brodey Hasty have a bad race," said Lance Winders, head coach at Henry County High. "Everyone knows that top spot on the podium in any race has his named carved in it, and deep at that. He is something special."
Hasty will begin his junior 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.
Hasty joins Gatorade Tennessee Boys Cross Country Runners of the Year Adam Barnard (2014-15, Daniel Boone High School), Aaron Templeton (2013-14 & 2012-13, Hardin Valley Academy), Daniel Peters (2011-12, Montgomery Bell Academy), Michael Peters (2010-11, Montgomery Bell Academy), Brandon Lord (2009-10, Baylor School), Bill Matthews (2008-09, Baylor School), and Sean Keveren (2007-08, Brentwood High School) 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 www.gatorade.com/poy.
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Previous School Winner
2007-08 Sean Keveren
