Owen Powell and Sophia Rodriguez Named Gatorade Washington Boys and Girls Cross County Players of the Year

Owen Powell and Sophia Rodriguez hold their Gatorade Cross Country Player of the Year Awards in Islander Stadium

Mercer Island, WA, May 9, 2025 - Mercer Island High School cross country athletes Owen Powell and Sophia Rodriguez have been named the 2024-25 Gatorade Washington Boys and Girls Cross Country Players of the Year.

Both Powell and Rodriguez are the first MIHS cross country athletes to be selected as either the boys or girls Washington Gatorade Cross Country Player of the Year.

“To have not one but two cross country players of the year from the state of Washington is pretty amazing,” said MIHS cross country coach Susan Empey. “This indicates that they are the best athletes in the entire state, it removes all the classifications, and it highlights the fact they are the best cross country runners in the state.”

“To have both of them at Mercer Island high school says a lot about their hard work but also I think indicates that the program is strong, that they have had a lot of support from their teammates, from their coaches, from their family, from their friends. I’m really proud of them and proud of the team as a whole,” continued Empey. 

Gatorade Player of the Year is the top honor in high school sports, celebrating the nation’s best high school athletes for their success on the field, in the classroom, and in the community. The award distinguishes Powell and Rodriguez as Washington’s best high school cross country athletes, and they join an impressive group of alumni that spans CEOs, coaches, star boys athletes such as Lukas Verzbicas (2009-10 & 2010-11, Carl Sandburg High School, IL), Edward Cheserek (2012-13, St. Benedict's Preparatory School, NJ) and Daniel Simmons (2022-23 & 2023-24, American Fork High School, UT) and star girls athletes Jordan Hasay (2008-09, Mission College Preparatory Catholic High School, CA), Katelyn Tuohy (2017-18, 2018-19 & 2019-20, North Rockland High School, NY) and Addison Ritzenhein (2023-24, Niwot High School, CO).

Powell, a senior, won his second straight WIAA Class 3A state meet this past season with an all-class best time of 14:44.9, breaking the tape 3.5 seconds ahead of his next-closest competitor and leading the Islanders to their first team championship in 61 years. A Top 3 finisher in 8 of 10 races this past season, Powell took third in the NXN Northwest Regional Championship to qualify for the national NXN Final, where he finished 46th. He clocked a 5K personal-best of 14:40.0 in winning the Nike Hole In The Wall XC Invitational and he also broke the tape in a personal-best 13:30.3 for three miles in the Sweepstakes Boys race at California’s 43rd annual Woodbridge XC Classic.

“I think this is something pretty cool because these banners go up in the school and theoretically, they will be there forever,” said Powell. “I think it’s cool being part of the school’s history like that.”

An avid mountain biker, Powell has volunteered locally through his school’s Rotary Interact Club and its International Club. He has also donated his time speaking to youth running clubs, imparting his insights on training, racing, goal-setting and mental preparation. “Owen Powell grabbed the attention of the prep distance-running ecosystem with an unforgettable, night triumph at the nation’s largest meet [Woodbridge], proving his track excellence carries over to cross country,” said Rich Gonzalez of PrepCalTrack. “He emerged at the top of the heap in a good year for Evergreen State runners.”

Powell has maintained a 3.67 GPA in the classroom. He has signed a written letter of athletic aid to run at the University of Washington this fall. He was named the 2023-24 Washington Gatorade Track and Field Athlete of the Year.

Powell joins recent Gatorade Washington Boys Cross Country Players of the Year Parker Mong (2023-24, Anacortes High School), Zack Munson (2022-23, Sehome High School) and Isaac Teeples (2021-22 & 2020-21, Kamiakin High School), among the state’s list of former award winners.

Rodridguez, a sophomore, raced to the WIAA Class 3A state title this past season, breaking the tape with a course record of 16:48.1 and pacing the Islanders to the team championship. Rodriguez crossed the finish in eighth place at the Nike Cross Nationals Final in 17:27.3 to earn Second Team All-America honors. She also took seventh at the Woodbridge Classic, the nation’s largest invitational.

“To be named the girls cross country Gatorade Player of the Year for Washington is really special,” said Rodriguez. “I am really just grateful to have the opportunity.

“I am representing a great community of my loved ones and family behind me. It’s really cool to represent the school,” continued Rodriguez.

Rodriguez has volunteered locally on behalf of the annual Seafair Festival, broadcasting the event’s happenings live on 88.9 KMIH The Bridge. She also helps run her school’s radio station. “Few underclassmen have amassed the credentials that Sophia Rodriguez has already banked in recent years,” said Gonzalez. “Her laser focus and mature approach ensure she squeezes every bit of benefit from each experience. She’s a rare new diamond on the distance-running scene.”

Rodriguez has maintained a 3.55 GPA in the classroom.

Rodriguez joins recent Gatorade Washington Girls Cross Country Players of the Year Logan Hofstee (2023-24, East Valley High School), Anna Callahan (2022-23, Skyline High School), Macy Marquardt (2021-22, Kennewick High School) and Julia David-Smith (2020-21, Issaquah High School), among the state’s list of former award winners.

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.

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 $5.6 million in grants to winners across more than 2,000 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.