Addie Pendergast Of Sheridan HS Repeats As WY Gatorade Girls Track And Field Athlete Of The Year

In its 39th year of honoring the nation’s most elite high school athletes, Gatorade announced Addie Pendergast of Sheridan High School is the 2023-24 Gatorade Wyoming Girls Track & Field Player 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 celebrates the nation’s top high school athletes for excellence on the field, in the classroom and in the community, distinguishes Pendergast as Wyoming’s best high school girls track & field athlete.

From CEOs and coaches to star athletes, Gatorade Player of the Year winners showcase the power of sport, touting an all-star group of alumni that includes Sanya Richards-Ross (2001-02, St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Fla), Sydney McLaughlin (2016-17, 2015-16 & 2014-15, Union Catholic High School, N.J.) and Angelina Napoleon (2022-23, Allegany-Limestone Central School, N.Y.).

The state’s returning Gatorade Player of the Year, the 5-foot-7 senior sprinter/hurdler won the 400-meter dash and the 300-meter intermediate hurdles at the Class 4A state meet this past season, leading the Lady Broncs to the team title.

Pendergast set a state record with her 300 hurdles clocking of 42.69 seconds, which ranked No. 58 nationally among girls prep competitors this spring.

Already the state record-holder in the 400 (set in 2023), her winning time of 54.40 at states ranked No. 63 nationally in 2024.

Pendergast has volunteered on behalf of multiple community service initiatives in her role as president of the Sheridan High School National Honor Society.

She has also donated her time to green space beautification projects and as a youth running coach and mentor.

“Addie had a tremendous career,” said Tanner Kelting, head coach of Thunder Basin High School. “She was a blast to watch compete and she elevated the level of competition here in Wyoming.”

Pendergast has maintained a weighted 4.46 GPA in the classroom and graduated as her school’s valedictorian.

She has signed a national letter of intent to compete on an athletic scholarship at Stanford University 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.

Two-time winner 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, Rawlins High School), among the state’s list of former award winners.

As part of Gatorade’s commitment to breaking down barriers in sport, every Player of the Year also receives a grant to donate to a social impact partner.

To date, the Gatorade Player of the Year program has provided more than $4.9 million in grants to winners across more than 1,900 organizations.