JOHNS CREEK HIGH SCHOOL STANDOUT NAMED
GATORADE GEORGIA GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY RUNNER OF THE YEAR
CHICAGO (January 10, 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 Allie Buchalski of Johns Creek High School as its 2012-13 Gatorade Georgia Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year. Buchalski is the first Gatorade Georgia Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year to be chosen from Johns Creek High 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 Buchalski as Georgia’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, Buchalski 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-8 senior raced to the Class AAAAAA individual state championship this past season with a time of 18:46.23, leading the Gladiators to eighth place. Also the Atlanta Track Club’s Ray Buckley Award winner as Georgia’s Female Runner of the Year, Buchalski won six regular-season meets by an average of 17.4 seconds, including the Atlanta Classic and Coach Wood Invitational. She won the Class AAAA individual state title as a junior and the Class AAA individual state championship as a freshman.
Also a track standout, Buchalski has maintained an A average in the classroom. A member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Student Venture Atlanta, she has volunteered locally on behalf of Girl Scouts of America and Unsung Heroes, a service group she founded in order to provide lunches to her school’s custodial staff on special occasions. She has also donated her time as a camp counselor.
“Allie is every coach’s dream athlete,” said Johns Creek head coach Danny Brock. “She is a model of character, determination and perseverance. She is the hardest worker I have ever coached, and she is the only state champion I have coached. She is a student of cross country, as she tries to learn every step of a course before she competes. Every Sunday, she and her father scout out the course, and she puts a name to every section of the course. Then, every night before the race she visualizes how she is going to race.”
Josh Brickell
THE BASICS
School: Peachtree Ridge (Suwanee, Ga.)
Grade: Senior
Height: 6-foot
Athletic achievement: The state’s returning Gatorade Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year, Brickell raced to the Class AAAAAA individual state championship this past season with a time of 15:55.32, leading the Lions to fifth place as a team. Also the two-time Runner of the Year as named by the Gwinnett Daily Post, he placed second at the Foot Locker South Regional championships in 14:49. He did not finish the national Foot Locker Cross Country Championships due to illness. Brickell captured eighth place at the Foot Locker’s national competition in 2011 as a junior.
Academic excellence: Also a track standout, Brickell has maintained a 4.00 GPA in the classroom and ranks sixth in his graduating class.
Exemplary character: He has volunteered locally on behalf of his church’s youth group, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the National Honor Society.
THE PRAISE
“As a senior this year, Josh showed exemplary work ethic, always doing what it took to be successful,” said Peachtree Ridge head coach Ron Clanton. “Josh’s actions show that he believes there are no shortcuts to success, and that doing all the little things can make a big difference. He has developed into a leader on the athletic field and in the classroom. Throughout his four years, he has consistently held himself to high athletic and academic standards.”
THE FUTURE: Brickell has verbally committed to an athletic scholarship at Furman University beginning this fall.