FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Lauren Rollins (312-729-3607)
National Cathedral School STANDOUT NAMED
GATORADE District of Columbia GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY RUNNER OF THE YEAR
CHICAGO (January 12, 2012) — In its 27th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with ESPN HS, today announced Polly Terzian of National Cathedral School as its 2011-12 Gatorade District of Columbia Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year. Terzian is the first Gatorade District of Columbia Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year to be chosen from National Cathedral School.
The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the racecourse, distinguishes Terzian as District of Columbia’s best high school girls cross country runner. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year award to be announced in January, Terzian joins an elite alumni association of past state award-winners in 12 sports, including Ryan Hall (1999-00, 2000-01, Big Bear HS, 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.) and Mark Sanchez (2004-05, Mission Viejo HS, Calif.).
The 5-foot-1 junior raced to first place individually at the Independent School League Championships this past season with a time of 21:50, leading the Eagles to second place as a team. Terzian also finished fourth at the Maryland/D.C. Private School Championships, second at the Lake Forest Cross Country Festival, third at the Mercersburg Invitational and fifth at the Battle of the Potomac.
Terzian has maintained a 3.33 GPA in the classroom. A talented pianist, she has volunteered locally providing food for the homeless and assisting vision-impaired patients on behalf of Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind.
“Polly is focused and driven, but she always places as much value on supporting her teammates as she does on her own performances,” said National Cathedral head coach Jim Ehrenhaft. “She’s the key factor in making our team a cohesive unit.”
Terzian will begin her 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 ESPN HS and the Gatorade high school sports leadership team, 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.
Terzianjoins Gatorade District of Columbia Girls Cross Country Runners of the Year Grace Carr (2010-11, Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School), Marisa Repka (2009-10, Sidwell Friends School), Moira Ryan (2008-09, Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School), and Juashaunna Kelly (2007-08, Roosevelt) as athletes who have won the cross country award since its inception in 2007.
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