A double state champion in two especially difficult field events, Alyssa Onnen has now added another honor to her resume. The Kearney Catholic High School senior-to-be has been named the Nebraska Gatorade Girls Track and Field Player of the Year.
Onnen captured both the Class C triple jump and pole vault crowns this past year while also placing third in the long jump. She was also the state champion in the triple jump and pole vault as a sophomore.
Behind Onnen's top performances, the Stars captured the state team title. She had a winning vault of 13-0.25, which broke the state meet record and placed her in the Top 25 of the nation over the spring.
Onnen's leap in the triple jump of 39-2.5 ranked 85th overall in the country. She also ran on the runner-up Kearney Catholic 4x100-meter relay.
"Watching Alyssa compete up close during he triple jump at the state meet, a number of things really stood out," Syracuse High School head coach Phil Janssen said. "Her athletic ability is obvious and places her among the best high school athletes (in the country), but what truly impressed me was her mentality and approach to competition.
"She was relaxed, composed and completely present in the moment."
Onnen, who started her own exfoliation business, Perfectly Pampered by Alyssa, as an 11-year-old, carries a 4.38 weighted GPA going into her senior season.
The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states across 12 different high school sports – 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 Player of the Year Selection Committee, which leverages experts including coaches, scouts, media and others as sources to help evaluate and determine the state winners in each sport.
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