FALMOUTH HIGH SCHOOL STANDOUT ADELAIDE COOKE NAMED GATORADE MAINE GIRLS TRACK & FIELD ATHLETE OF THE YEAR


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Contact: John Manzo (312-729-3656)

FALMOUTH HIGH SCHOOL STANDOUT NAMED GATORADE MAINE GIRLS TRACK & FIELD ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

CHICAGO (June 23, 2016) - In its 31st year of honoring the nation's best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with USA TODAY High School Sports, today announced Adelaide Cooke of Falmouth High School as its 2015-16 Gatorade Maine Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year. Cooke is the first Gatorade Maine Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year to be chosen from Falmouth 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 track, distinguishes Cooke as Maine'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, Cooke 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 5-foot-9 junior won the shot put and the discus at the Class A state meet this past season, leading the Yachtsmen to the state championship as a team. Cooke hurled the shot put 39 feet, 11.5 inches and launched the discus 131-0, while also finishing second in the javelin and fourth in the 100-meter high hurdles. She earned a second-place finish in the discus at the New England Championships.

Cooke has maintained an A average in the classroom. She has volunteered locally on behalf of Maine Medical Center and youth sports programs.

"Adelaide has impressed from the moment she arrived at her first high school practice," said Falmouth coach Danny Paul. "She enjoys working and she loves a challenge. Her positive attitude is contagious."

Cooke 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 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. Cooke joins recent Gatorade Maine Girls Track & Field Athletes of the Year Kate Hall (2014-15, 2013-14 & 2012-13, Lake Region High School), Bethanie Brown (2011-12, Waterville High School), Abbey Leonardi (2010-11, 2009-10 & 2008-09, Kennebunk High School), Becky O'Brien (2007-08, Greely High School), and Chelsey Tewell (2006-07, York High 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.