MIHS rising senior Owen Powell Named Gatorade Washington Boys Track & Field Player of the Year

Mercer Island, WA, June 27, 2024 - In its 39th year of honoring the nation’s most elite high school athletes, Gatorade today announced Owen Powell of Mercer Island High School is the 2023-24 Gatorade Washington Boys Track & Field Player of the Year. Powell is the first Gatorade Washington Boys Track & Field Player of the Year to be chosen from Mercer Island 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 Powell as Washington’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 5-foot-11, 140-pound junior middle-distance and distance talent set a state record in the 800-meter run at the Portland Track Festival this past season. Powell’s time of 1:48.60 shaved more than two seconds off his personal best and ranked No. 4 nationally among prep competitors this spring. His second-place finish of 4:02.04 in the mile at the Nike/Jesuit Twilight Relays ranked No. 8 nationally in 2024, while his top 3200-meter run (8:41.03) at the Arcadia Invitational ranked No. 11.

Powell won the 3A State Championship in the 1,600-meter run in 2023 and 2024. He also won 3A State Championship in Cross Country and the 800-meter run in 2024.

An avid mountain biker and rock climber, Powell has volunteered locally as a youth track coach. “Owen is a pure joy to coach,” said Susan Empey, head coach of the Mercer Island High School cross country team and assistant coach of the MIHS track team. “Owen has the unique ability to strike a balance between working hard and encouraging others to do the same. He takes advantage of disappointing races—which are few and far between—by analyzing the results, looking for ways to improve and then moving on.”

Powell has maintained a 3.68 GPA in the classroom. He will begin his 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.

Powell joins recent Gatorade Washington Boys Track & Field Players of the Year Brayden Platt (2022-23, Yelm High School), Jeremiah Nubbe (2021-22 7 2020-21, Rainier High School) and Trey Knight (2019-20, Ridgefield 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.

To learn more about the Gatorade Player of the Year program, check out past winners or to nominate student-athletes, visit playeroftheyear.gatorade.com or follow us on social media on Facebook at facebook.com/GatoradePOY, Instagram at instagram.com/Gatorade and X(Twitter) at x.com/Gatorade.