Gavin Stafford Of Big Horn HS Named 2024 WY Gatorade Boys Track And Field Athlete Of The Year

In its 39th year of honoring the nation’s most elite high school athletes, Gatorade announced Gavin Stafford of Big Horn High School as the 2023-24 Gatorade Wyoming Boys Track & Field Player of the Year.

Stafford is the first Gatorade Wyoming Boys Track & Field Player of the Year to be chosen from Big Horn 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 Stafford as Wyoming’s best high school boys track & field player.

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 Alan Webb (2000-01, South Lakes High School, Va.), Kerron Clement (2002-03, Laporte High School, Texas) and Grant Fisher (2014-15 & 2013-14, Grand Blanc High School, Mich.).

The 6-foot, 155-pound senior sprinter won four state titles and set a state record along with three meet records at the Class 2A state meet this past season, leading the Rams to a second straight state title.

Stafford’s clocking of 10.31 seconds in the 100-meter dash during prelims eclipsed the previous state record.

He collected his class marks in 200 prelims (21.16) and by winning the long jump (23 feet, 0.75 inches) and sharing in a new 4×100 relay standard (43.07) as the foursome’s anchor.

A First Team All-State running back for the Big Horn High School football team, Stafford has volunteered locally as a youth football and basketball coach.

He has also donated his time as a peer mentor.

“I remarked at the state meet to another coach ‘I hope people realize how special this kid is,’” said Steven Hanson, head coach of Tongue River High School. “He’s a generational talent. Watching him perform gave you the feeling that at any moment, you could witness something incredible.”

Stafford has maintained a B average in the classroom.

He remains undecided upon a collegiate destination.

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.

Stafford joins recent Gatorade Wyoming Boys Track & Field Players of the Year Gage Gose (2022-23, Lander Valley High School), Texas Tanner (2021-22, Sheridan High School), Joseph Turner (2020-21, Lyman High School) and Peter Visser (2019-20, Star Valley 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.