FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Ashley Ginascol (312-729-3622)
CHICAGO (June 23, 2011) — In its 26th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade
Company, in collaboration with ESPN RISE, today announced Tyler Anderson of Hillsboro High School as its 2010-11
Gatorade Tennessee Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year. Anderson is the second Gatorade Tennessee Boys Track
& Field Athlete of the Year to be chosen from Hillsboro 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 Anderson as Tennessee’s
best high school boys track & field athlete. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Boys Track & Field
Athlete of the Year award to be announced in June, Anderson joins an elite alumni association of state award-winners
in 12 sports, including Ryan Hall (1999-01, Big Bear HS, Calif.), Meb Keflezighi (1993-94, San Diego HS, Calif.), Derek
Jeter (1991-92, Kalamazoo HS, Mich.), Candace Parker (2001-02, Naperville Central HS, Ill.), Mark Sanchez (2004-05,
Mission Viejo HS, Calif.) and Lolo Jones (1997-98, Roosevelt HS, Ia.).
Competing with an injured hamstring, the 6-foot-2 senior won the triple jump with a leap of 46 feet, 2 inches at the
Class AAA state meet this spring, leading the Burros to sixth place as a team. Anderson also took second in the long
jump with a leap of 23-5.25, and fourth in both the 100-meter dash in 10.93 seconds and the 200-meter dash (22.09).
The 2011 Midstate Track Athlete of the Year, he set a state-record in the Boston-Moon Classic with a 24-8.25 mark in
the long jump. Anderson ranked among the nation’s top 75 prep performers in 2011 at the time of his selection in the
long jump, triple jump and 200 meters.
Anderson has maintained a 3.10 GPA in the classroom. He has volunteered locally with the Nashville Fire Department.
“Tyler is the perfect mix of talent and humbleness,” said Jonathan Ralston, Hillsboro High assistant coach. “He’s just an
all-around good kid. I wish I had more of him. He’s a very team-oriented person, too. Anything you ask him to do, he’ll
do it.”
Anderson has signed a National Letter of Intent to compete in track and field on 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, 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.
Anderson joins recent Gatorade Tennessee Boys Track & Field Athletes of the Year Kevin Lazas (2009-10, Brentwood),
Jordan Chaney (2008-09, Maryville), and Sean Keveren (2007-08, Brentwood) 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 playeroftheyear.gatorade.com.
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