Signee Rainsberger Nabs Top Honors
01/21/16 | Cross Country
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – University of Oregon track and field signee Katie Rainsberger was named the 2015-16 Gatorade National Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year at a ceremony at Air Academy High School Thursday morning.
She becomes the third Duck to win the honor, joining Jordan Hasay (2009) and Sarah Baxter (2013).
Rainsberger raced to the national title at the Nike Cross Nationals Final this past season, breaking the tape in 16:56.8. She also won the NXN Southwest Regional championship in a time of 17:07.
Rainsberger captured the Colorado Class 4A individual state championship with a course-record time of 17:39, leading the Air Academy Kadets to the state title as a team. Rainsberger was the fastest 5,000 meter cross country runner in the country during her senior season.
She is a two-time state Gatorade Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year (2014-15) and was unbeaten against all distance competition in 2015.
On the track, she ran the fifth fastest high school mile time in the country last year as a junior to earn 2014 Track and Field News All-America honors.
Overall, Rainsberger owns five Colorado state 4A titles after winning back-to-back cross country championships as well as the 800, 1,600, and 3,200 on the track in 2015
Rainsberger has maintained a weighted 4.49 GPA in the classroom, is a member of the National Honor Society and is the sports editor of her school newspaper.
She has volunteered locally on behalf of the USATF as well as charity road races. The recipient of the Sportswomen of Colorado 2015 High School Cross Country Award, Rainsberger has also been honored as a student-athlete by Rotary Club International.
Her mother Lisa won the 1985 Boston Marathon, the last American woman to win the race
University of Oregon Female Cross Country Athlete of the Year (awarded since 2007-08 year)2009 – Jordan Hasay
2013 – Sarah Baxter
2015 – Katie Rainsberger
About the Gatorade National Player of the Year Program
In 1985, The Gatorade Company established an award with an important goal: to honor America's elite high school athletes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Since then, the Gatorade Player of the Year program has become one of the most prestigious high school athletic awards in the nation.
For 31 years, Gatorade has honored more than 14,000 State Players of the Year and 280 National Players of the Year. That list includes many of today's top professional athletes, such as Peyton Manning, Karl-Anthony Towns, Maya Moore, Jabari Parker, Kerri Walsh and Andrew Wiggins.
For more information, visit http://www.gatorade.com/poy/.
Players Mentioned
