Brianna Malone Named Gatorade New Hampshire Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year
CHICAGO (January 23, 2023) — In its 38th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, Gatorade today announced Brianna Malone of Portsmouth Christian Academy is the 2022-23 Gatorade New Hampshire Girls Cross Country Player of the Year. Malone is the first Gatorade New Hampshire Girls Cross Country Player of the Year to be chosen from Portsmouth Christian Academy.
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 Malone as New Hampshire’s best high school girls cross country player. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Girls Cross Country Player of the Year award to be announced in January, Malone joins an elite alumni association of state award-winners, including Natalie Cook (2021-22, Flower Mound High School, Flower Mound, Texas), Katelyn Tuohy (2019-20, North Rockland High School, Thiels, N.Y.), Megan Goethals (2009-10, Rochester High School, Rochester Hills, Mich.) and Jordan Hasay (2008-09, Mission College Preparatory Catholic High School, San Luis Obispo, Calif.).
The 5-foot-6 senior raced to the Division 3 individual state championship this past season with a time of 19:15.6 and also won the NHIAA Meet of Champions. Malone was victorious in the Black Bear Invitational and took second in the Manchester Invitational in addition to finishing second at the New England Championships. She crossed the line 13th at the Champs Sports Northeast Regional Championships.
Malone has served as class treasurer for three years in addition to volunteering locally at a Vacation Bible School and she’s been a member of the Wednesday Girls Club morning bible study as well as the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Prayer and Praise Club. She has also participated in a clothing drive for a local homeless shelter with her church youth group. “Following her convincing divisional victory, Brianna Malone delivered a trio of terrific efforts in November to conclude her season,” said Erik Boal, an editor for DyeStat.com. “She won the New Hampshire Meet of Champions in a runaway performance and took second at the New England Championships, followed by another strong race in her season finale at the Champs Sports Northeast Regional in New York.”
Malone has maintained a 4.00 GPA in the classroom. She has signed a National Letter of Intent to run on scholarship at High Point University in North Carolina 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.
Malone joins recent Gatorade New Hampshire Girls Cross Country Players of the Year Chloe Trudel (2021-22, Souhegan High School), Addison Cox (2020-21, Coe-Brown Northwood Academy), Caroline Fischer (2019-20, Bishop Guertin High School), and Sophia Reynolds (2018-19, Merrimack Valley 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.
To learn more about the Gatorade Player of the Year program, check out past winners or to nominate studentathletes, visit playeroftheyear.gatorade.com or follow us on social media on Facebook at facebook.com/GatoradePOY, Instagram at instagram.com/Gatorade and Twitter at twitter.com/Gatorade.