Sahlman is first boys cross country or track competitor to be chosen since Gatorade first recognized top overall athletes for each gender in 2003, joins Tuohy as only cross country honorees to receive award; UCLA-bound basketball standout Rice is female winner as event returns after two-year hiatus

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

The high school career of Colin Sahlman truly experienced a Hollywood ending Tuesday night.

The Newbury Park High graduate and Northern Arizona signee added one final memorable achievement to his prep resume with his historical selection as the Gatorade Male Athlete of the Year at Goya Studios in West Hollywood, as the ceremony returned to California following a two-year hiatus as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He was presented the award by Arizona Cardinals star defensive end J.J. Watt.

“It’s crazy. There are a lot of professionals on that list, a lot of NFL players and NBA players and MLB players,” Sahlman said. “Hopefully I’ll be the first (track and field) Olympian or something. It’s fun and it’s cool to look at the names and to now be on there with them. It’s incredible.”

Sahlman, who was recognized in February as the Gatorade National Boys Cross Country Player of the Year, became the first male competitor in his sport to be chosen as the overall top honoree since the awards program first selected LeBron James and Allyson Felix as its top two athletes nationally in 2003.

“I guess now it can be done and it’s an amazing feeling,” Sahlman said. “I hope it brings a lot of light to the sport of running, and to cross country and track, and hopefully it brings a lot more energy and excitement, and a lot of people are motivating themselves. I love this sport and it’s everything I have and I’ll give everything to it and it’s amazing that this (award) came out of it.”

Katelyn Tuohy, a graduate of North Rockland High in New York and reigning NCAA Division 1 5,000-meter champion at North Carolina State, remains the only girls cross country competitor to earn Gatorade Female Athlete of the Year after she swept both the national cross country and track and field awards in 2018.

Prior to Sahlman’s selection, only athletes competing in baseball, basketball and football had won Gatorade’s top annual male award during the past two decades. And the only two competitors from California to be honored before Tuesday were both Mater Dei High graduates and USC quarterbacks with Matt Barkley (2008) and J.T. Daniels (2018), who has since transferred to Georgia.

“When I looked at the history and only three sports had won on the guys side, and it was the main three, football, basketball and baseball, I was like ‘Alright, I’ll just go and enjoy the show,’” Sahlman said. “But when I heard my name called by J.J. Watt, my jaw dropped. I was just in shock. I had no idea I was going to get it and it was just a really awesome surprise. It can’t get much better than this.”

Sahlman became emotional upon learning he had prevailed against a group of candidates including National Boys Track and Field Player of the Year Cade Flatt from Marshall County High in Kentucky, along with basketball honoree Gradey Dick of Sunrise Christian Academy in Kansas, football award winner Nick Singleton of Governor Mifflin in Pennsylvania, baseball recipient Brock Porter of Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Prep in Michigan and the top soccer athlete nationally in Jacob Murrell from McDonogh High in Maryland.

“I was in shock getting the award and just when I came back down (following the announcement), then it started coming up for me about the realization,” Sahlman said. “I was so proud of all the hard work that I have put in and I couldn’t hold it back.”

Sahlman also enjoyed a California connection with the selection of basketball standout Kiki Rice as the Gatorade Female Athlete of the Year, as the graduate of Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C. has signed with UCLA. Rice and Sahlman were presented their awards less than 10 miles away from Westwood.

“I have so much support here and I know only my parents could make the event, but I’m sure I would have a lot more people who would want to come and a lot of family who would want to attend,” Sahlman said. “They’re probably just freaking out right now. They go crazy about all sorts of things with (my brother) Aaron and I, so I can only imagine what they’re saying right now. It’s just awesome that it happened right here.”

Rice became the ninth basketball athlete to be recognized as the Gatorade Female Athlete of the Year, joining a group that includes Candace Parker, Tina Charles, Maya Moore, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Chiney Ogwumike, Breanna Stewart, Brianna Turner and Paige Bueckers.

Juliette Whittaker of Mount de Sales Academy in Maryland, the national girls track and field honoree, and cross country recipient Natalie Cook of Flower Mound High in Texas, were also finalists for the overall top girls award.

Sahlman was recognized not only for his national 5-kilometer prep record of 14:03.29 from the RunningLane Championships in December in Alabama, but also capturing the Division 1 state cross country crown at Woodward Park in Fresno with the second-fastest performance in course history at 14:26.5, leading Newbury Park to team titles at both events.

He also accumulated one of the most well-rounded resumes in prep track history, contributing to the all-time high school mark in 4xMile Relay with a Newbury Park group that ran 16:29.31 in New York, along with clocking 1:48.07 in the 800, 3:39.59 in the 1,500, 3:56.24 in the mile and 8:33.32 in the 3,200.

Sahlman and Rice, along with nine of the 10 other national honorees, are scheduled to attend the ESPYs ceremony Wednesday at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

Katie Thronson, a 2018 graduate of Lewis and Clark High in Washington and Gatorade state cross country player of the year, received the inaugural Play it Forward Alumni Award, which will provide a $20,000 grant to Active4Youth in the Spokane community, which she remained connected with following her prep career.

Thronson is scheduled to graduate this summer from Tennessee with a degree in Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology, in addition to a minor in Public Health. She will complete her remaining athletic eligibility, along with pursuing a Masters degree beginning this fall at Notre Dame.