Emerson Flaker of Scarborough High School is the 2023-24 Gatorade Maine Girls Track and Field Player of the Year
CHICAGO (June 25, 2024) - In its 39th year of honoring the nation's most elite high school athletes, Gatorade today announced Emerson Flaker of Scarborough High School is the 2023-24 Gatorade Maine Girls Track & Field Player of the Year. Flaker is the first Gatorade Maine Girls Track & Field Player of the Year to be chosen from Scarborough High School.
The award, which celebrates the nation's top high school athletes for excellence on the field, in the classroom and in the community, distinguishes Flaker as Maine's best high school girls track & field athlete. From CEOs and coaches to star athletes, Gatorade Player of the Year winners showcase the power of sport, touting an all-star group of alumni that includes Sanya Richards-Ross (2001-02, St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Fla), Sydney McLaughlin (2016-17, 2015-16 & 2014-15, Union Catholic High School, N.J.) and Angelina Napoleon (2022-23, Allegany-Limestone Central School, N.Y.).
The 5-foot-7 junior sprinter swept the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dash events at the Class A state meet this past season, clocking a personal-best time of 12.15 seconds in the 100 and leading the Red Storm to the team title. Flaker owned the state's best times in all three sprints this spring and she also anchored the winning 4x400-meter relay quartet at the state meet. Her personal-best in the 400 of 56.06 seconds at the New England championships was good for a fifth-place finish.
The treasurer of the Class of 2025 at Scarborough High School, Flaker has volunteered locally as a youth basketball camp coach and she has donated her time to multiple community service initiatives through her school's Key Club. "Emerson is a dedicated athlete who's put in the time to become the accomplished runner that she is," said Denise Curry, head coach of Scarborough High School. "She always gets her workouts in."
Flaker has maintained an A average in the classroom. She 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 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.
Flaker joins recent Gatorade Maine Girls Track & Field Players of the Year Ruth White (2022-23, Orono High School), Anna Connors (2021-22, Bangor High School) and Victoria Bossong (2020-21 & 2019-20, Cheverus High School), among the state's list of former award winners.
As part of Gatorade's commitment to breaking down barriers in sport, every Player of the Year also receives a grant to donate to a social impact partner. To date, the Gatorade Player of the Year program has provided more than $4.9 million in grants to winners across more than 1,900 organizations.
To learn more about the Gatorade Player of the Year program, check out past winners or to nominate student - athletes, visit playeroftheyear.gatorade.com or follow us on social media on Facebook at facebook.com/GatoradePOY, Instagram at instagram.com/Gatorade and X(Twitter) at x.com/Gatorade.
