FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Adam Woullard (312-729-3627)
HAWAII PREPARATORY ACADEMY STANDOUT NAMED
GATORADE HAWAII GIRLS TRACK & FIELD ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
CHICAGO (June 19, 2013) — In its 28th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade
Company, in collaboration with USA TODAY High School Sports, today announced Zoe Sims of Hawaii Preparatory
Academy as its 2012-13 Gatorade Hawaii Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year. Sims is the second Gatorade Hawaii
Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year to be chosen from Hawaii Preparatory 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 track, distinguishes Sims as Hawaii’s best high
school girls track & field athlete. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Girls Track & Field Athlete of the
Year award to be announced in June, Sims joins an elite alumni association of state award-winners in 12 sports,
including Allyson Felix (2001-02, Los Angeles Baptist, Calif.), Derek Jeter (1991-92, Kalamazoo HS, Mich.), Candace
Parker (2001-02, Naperville Central HS, Ill.), Abby Wambach (1997-98, Our Lady of Mercy, N.Y.), Mark Sanchez
(2004-05, Mission Viejo HS, Calif.), Lolo Jones (1997-98, Roosevelt HS, Ia.) and Bianca Knight (2006-07, Ridgeland HS,
Miss.).
The senior middle-distance and distance runner won the 1,500-meter run with a state-record time of 4:36.22 and the
800-meter run in 2:13.58 at the Outdoor State Championships past season, leading the Ka Makani to third place as a
team. Sims’ 1500-meter run time at the state meet ranked No. 26 among U.S. prep competitors in 2013 at the time of
her selection. She also won the 1500-meter run, as a sophomore at the 2011 state meet.
Also a cross country standout, Sims has maintained a 4.95 weighted GPA in the classroom and is a 2013 U.S. Presidential
Scholar. She has volunteered locally on behalf of a charity walk and as part of initiatives to feed the homeless.
“She’s a tremendous athlete and a tremendous scholar,” said Bob Martin, head coach of rival K’au High. “She broke a
14-year-old state record in the 1,500 meters set by the very talented Victoria Chang, she nearly bested the 800-meter
record and she placed in the 4x400. It was a tremendous cap to a tremendous career.”
Sims will attend Princeton University this fall, where she will compete in cross country and track.
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 high school sports leadership team in partnership with
USA TODAY High School Sports, which work with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of
accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.
Sims joins recent Gatorade Hawaii Girls Track & Field Athletes of the Year Charlinda Ioane (2011-12, Kapolei High
School), Kailea Tracy-Visintainer (2010–11, Seabury Hall), Ashley Satterwhite (2009-10, Punahou School), Bailey
Massenburg (2008–09, King Kekaulike), Zhane Santiago (2007-08, Kahuku), and Samantha Cabreros (2006-2007,
Punahou School) among the state’s list of former award winners.
To keep up to date on the latest happenings, become a fan of Gatorade Player of the Year on Facebook and follow us
on Twitter. For more on the Gatorade Player of the Year program, including nomination information, a complete list of
past winners and the announcement of the Gatorade National Player of the Year, visit www.gatorade.com/poy.
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