Matt Barkley and Chanelle Price Named Gatorade High School Athletes of the Year

Gatorade

Athlete of the Year Award winners Chanelle Price, National Girls Track

and Field Player of the Year, and Matt Barkley, National Football

Player of the Year, show their trophies after being named the top prep

male and female athletes, Wednesday, July 16, 2008 in Los Angeles.

Introduced in 1985, the Gatorade Player of the Year award honors high

school athletes for their athletic excellence, academic achievement and

exceptional character. 
 



Gatorade Athlete of the Year Award winner Matt Barkley, center, shakes hands

with Matt Leinart, 2001 California Football Player of the Year, left,

as Greg Oden, 2006 Gatorade Athlete of the Year, looks on after Barkley

was named the top prep male athlete, Wednesday, July 16, 2008 in Los

Angeles. Introduced in 1985, the Gatorade Player of the Year award

honors high school athletes for their athletic excellence, academic

achievement and exceptional character. 

        High School Stars Share Stage on Sports' Biggest Awards Day

-- The biggest names in high school

and professional sports convened in Hollywood today as Gatorade honored the

top prep male and female athletes with the sixth annual Gatorade High

School Athlete of the Year awards. Gatorade National Football Player of the

Year Matt Barkley (Mater Dei HS/Santa Ana, Calif.) was named Gatorade High

School Male Athlete of the Year, while Gatorade National Girls Track &

Field Athlete of the Year Chanelle Price (Easton Area HS/Easton, Pa.)

received Gatorade High School Female Athlete of the Year honors.

    Barkley and Price received their awards at a luncheon emceed by ESPN's

Stuart Scott and attended by Matt Leinart of the Arizona Cardinals (2001

California Football Player of the Year), Greg Oden of the Portland

Trailblazers (2005/2006 National Basketball Player of the Year & 2006

Gatorade Athlete of the Year), Candace Parker of the Los Angeles Sparks

(2003/2004 National Basketball Player of the Year & 2004 Gatorade Athlete

of the Year), Allyson Felix (2003 National Track & Field Athlete of the

Year & 2003 Athlete of the Year) and soccer legend Mia Hamm.

    Introduced in 1985, the Gatorade Player of the Year award was one of

the first national awards to honor high school athletes for their athletic

excellence, academic achievement and exceptional character. In 2003, the

Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year awards were established to

identify and honor the nation's top overall male and female high school

athlete from among the 12 Gatorade National Players of the Year honored

during the high school athletic season.

    All Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year nominees will walk the

ESPY red carpet and be featured as special guests during The ESPY Awards

Show. The show will take place this evening and air on ESPN on Sunday, July

20, at 9:00 p.m. EDT.

    "The Gatorade Athlete of the Year Awards stand apart in that they honor

those who are not only the best on the field of play, but are also proven

performers academically, and actively give back to their communities," said

Jeff Urban, Gatorade senior vice president of sports marketing. "Matt and

Chanelle are outstanding examples of what a leader and a student-athlete

should be."

    2008 GATORADE HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETE OF THE YEAR AWARD WINNERS

    Matt Barkley: The 6-foot-3, 220-pound junior quarterback threw for

3,576 yards and 35 touchdowns, completing 63 percent of his passes

(214-of-340) against just nine interceptions. The first junior captain in

Mater Dei history, Barkley averaged 325 yards and 3.2 touchdown passes per

game in leading the Monarchs (9-2) to the quarterfinals of PAC-5 Division

Southern Section 2007 Football Championships, where they fell to Serra

League top seed Crespi Carmelite High. Barkley has maintained a 3.77 GPA in

the classroom and enthusiastically donates his time, spearheading the

team's Monarchs for Marines initiative, lending tangible support and

morale-boosting contributions to the Marines and Sailors of Camp Pendleton.

As part of the effort, Barkley has helped raise more than $100,000 for a

charity benefiting the families of wounded and fallen Marines.

    --  First-ever non-senior to be awarded Gatorade Male Athlete of the Year

        and Gatorade National Football Player of the Year honors

    --  2007 PARADE Magazine Player of the Year

    --  Earned All-CIF honors, All-League honors and All-Metro honors

    --  Rated the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2009 by Rivals.com

    Chanelle Price: No stranger to international competition, the senior

half-miler placed sixth in the 800-meter run against a world-class field at

the Prefontaine Classic earlier this month with a time of 2:01.61, clocking

the second-best time in scholastic history and eclipsing a milestone set by

track legend Mary Decker. Shattering the state record and winning her third

consecutive gold medal in the 800-meter with a time of 2:02.90 at the PIAA

Class AAA state meet in May, Price helped the Red Rovers to a seventh-place

finish as a team. Price has maintained a 99.28 average in the classroom,

placing her in the top five percent of her class. Price donates her time as

a Special Olympics volunteer and as a local Vacation Bible School

counselor.

    --  2008 National Scholastic Indoor Championships 800-meter run champion

        (2:05.93)

    --  Ran 12th-fastest Open 800 preliminary-heat time (2:08.39) at USATF

        Indoor Championships in February 2008 (running vs. collegians and

        pros)

    --  Three-time PIAA Class 3A 800-meter champion

    --  2007 Nike Outdoor (2:02.76) and Indoor (2:07.43) Nationals 800-meter

        champion

    --  Set age 16 national record in July 2007, breaking Joetta Clark's 1979

        mark of 2:03.54

    For more information on the Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year

awards and the Gatorade Player of the Year program, visit

http://www.gatorade.com/playeroftheyear.

Source: Gatorade

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