Glacier Peak junior runner Amy-Eloise Neale was named the Gatorade Washington Girls Track Athlete of the Year on Wednesday.
Here’s the write-up on ESPN.com:
THE WINNER: Amy-Eloise Neale
THE BASICS
School: Glacier Peak (Snohomish, Wash.)
Grade: Junior
Event(s): Middle-distance/distance
Height: 5-foot-10
THE PILLARS
Athletic achievement: A two-time Gatorade Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year and the state’s returning Gatorade Girls Track &Field Athlete of the Year, Neale won the 800-meter run at the Class 3A state championships this spring with a meet-record time of 2:10.32 and led the Grizzlies to a third-place finish as a team. Also the state meet record-holder in the 1,600-meter run (4:46.56) and the 3,200-meter run (10:12.33), she was ranked in the top 40 nationally in 2012 among prep competitors in the 800, 1,500, 1,600, Mile and the 3,200 at the time of her selection.
Academic excellence: Neale has maintained a 4.0 GPA in the classroom.
Exemplary character: A pianist and flutist, she has volunteered locally as a member of her Girl Scout Troop, at a community garden and on behalf of a food bank.
THE PRAISE
“Amy-Eloise Neale has proven herself over the last few years to indeed be one of the nation’s best distance runners, from the 800 to the 3200,” said Russ Vincent, head coach of rival Mountlake Terrace (Wash.). “I have witnessed her at many events and seen her know how to compete and virtually always come out on top.”
THE FUTURE: Neale will begin her senior year of high school this fall.
Here’s a look at the other 50 states’ girls track athletes of the year.
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