FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Julie Mason (412-561-1014)
KNOXVILLE CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL STANDOUT NAMED
GATORADE® TENNESSEE GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY RUNNER OF THE YEAR
CHICAGO (January 14, 2010) — In its 25th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade
Company, in collaboration with ESPN RISE, today announced Megan Ferowich of Knoxville Catholic High School as
its 2009-10 Gatorade Tennessee Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year. Ferowich is the first Gatorade Tennessee
Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year to be chosen from Knoxville Catholic 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 Ferowich as
Tennessee’s best high school girls cross country runner. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Girls
Cross Country Runner of the Year award to be announced in January, Ferowich joins an elite alumni association of
past state award-winners in 12 sports, including Derek Jeter (1991-92, Kalamazoo HS, MI), Candace Parker (2001-02,
Naperville Central HS, IL), Kevin Garnett (1992-93, Maudlin HS, SC), Abby Wambach (1997-98, Our Lady of Mercy,
NY) and Mark Sanchez (2004-05, Mission Viejo HS, Calif.).
The 5-foot-2 sophomore raced to the Class AAA individual state title this past season with a time of 17:47.76, leading the
Fighting Irish to a second-place finish as a team. The ESPN RISE Southeast Athlete of the Week for Nov. 12, Ferowich
captured fourth place at the Foot Locker South Regional championships, crossing the line in 17:12, then clocked a
17:31 to take fifth at the national Foot Locker Cross Country Championships.
Ferowich has maintained a 3.93 GPA in the classroom. She has volunteered locally at a homeless shelter, the Ronald
McDonald House and as a peer leader during her school’s freshman orientation.
“Megan has an incredible drive to be successful,” said Knoxville Catholic Athletic Director Jason Surlas. “She is very
focused and an incredibly hard worker. She is 100 percent dedicated to the sport and to her entire high school
experience.”
Ferowich will begin her 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 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.
Ferowich joins Gatorade Tennessee Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year Kathy Kroeger (2008-09 & 2007-08,
Independence) as athletes who have won the cross country award since its inception in 2007.
To celebrate the award’s 25th anniversary, Gatorade wants you to vote for the All-Time Greatest Players of the Year at
gatorade.com/POY25. 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
playeroftheyear.gatorade.com.
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