Addie Pendergast Of Sheridan Named 2023 WY Gatorade Girls Track And Field Athlete Of The Year

In its 38th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, Gatorade announced Addie Pendergast of Sheridan High School is the 2022-23 Gatorade Wyoming Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year.

Pendergast is the second Gatorade Wyoming Girls Track & Field Player of the Year to be chosen from Sheridan 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 field, distinguishes Pendergast as Wyoming’s best high school girls track & field athlete.

Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Girls Track & Field Player of the Year award to be announced in July, Pendergast joins an elite alumni association of state award- winners in 12 sports, including Jasmine Moore (2018-19, Lake Ridge High School, Texas), Sydney McLaughlin (2016-17, 2015-16 & 2014-15, Union Catholic High School, N.J.), and Lolo Jones (1997-98, Roosevelt High School, Iowa).

The 5-foot-6 junior swept the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dash at the Class 4A state meet and took second in the 300 hurdles this past season, leading the Lady Broncs to a third-place finish as a team.

She also broke the tape in the 400 at the Wyoming Classic with a state-record clocking of 54.25, which ranked as the nation’s No. 33 performance among girls prep competitors in 2023.

An accomplished trumpet player and member of her school’s We The People team that captured a state championship and competed in the national finals in Washington D.C., Pendergast has volunteered locally helping to serve at-risk children in Sheridan County in association with its Food Group.

She is traveling this summer to Copenhagen, Denmark, to do a study abroad program with an NGO named CIEE, focusing on Climate Science. “Addie Pendergast returned to the Wyoming state meet this season after being unable to compete last year (following a transfer from Tongue River) and picked up where she left off as a freshman by winning three individual titles. She’s one of the most exciting all-around female athletes to compete in Wyoming during the past three decades.”

Pendergast has maintained a 4.0 GPA in the classroom. She will begin her senior 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 Player of the Year Selection Committee, which leverages experts including coaches, scouts, media and others as sources to help evaluate and determine the state winners in each sport.

Pendergast joins recent Gatorade Wyoming Girls Track & Field Players of the Year Kate Brigham (2021-22, Jackson Hole High School), Lauryn Love (2020-21, Campbell County High School), and Sydney Thorvaldson (2019-20 & 2018-19, Rawlins High School), among the state’s list of former award winners.

Being a Gatorade Player of the Year means paying it forward for the next generation.

Through Gatorade’s Play it Forward initiative, every Player of the Year receives a grant to give to one of Gatorade’s social impact partners, supporting Gatorade’s ambition to fuel the future of sport.

To date, Gatorade Player of the Year winners’ grants have totaled more than $3.5 million across more than 1,300 organizations.

For nearly 40 years, Gatorade has honored high school athletes at the top of their game as teammates, supporting their communities and achieving academic success.

From CEOs and coaches to star athletes and community leaders, Gatorade Player of the Year winners showcase the power of sport.

100 Meter Dash at 2023 State Meet:

400 Meter Dash at 2023 State Meet: