CHICAGO(June24,2025)-In its 40th year of honoring the nation's most elite high school athletes, Gatorade today announced Emerson Flaker of Scarborough High School is the 2024-25 Gatorade Maine Girls Track & Field Player of the Year.
Gatorade Player of the Year is the top honor in high school sports, celebrating the nation's best high school athletes for their success on the field, in the classroom, and in the community. The award distinguishes Flaker as Maine's best high school girls track & field athlete, and she joins an impressive group of alumni that spans CEOs, coaches and star athletes such as Sanya Richards (2001-02, St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Fl.), Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (2014-15, 2015-16 & 2016-17, Union Catholic High School, N.J.) and Angelina Napoleon (2022-23, Allegany-Limestone Central School, N.Y.).
The state's returning Gatorade Player of the Year, the 5-foot-7 senior sprinter, won the 200- and 400-meter dash at the Class A state meet for a second straight year this past season, leading the Red Storm to second place as a team. Flaker also ran the lead leg for Scarborough's winning 4x400-meter relay quartet and anchored the second-place 4x800-meter relay. She recorded the state's top times in the 100, 200, and 400 this spring.
The treasurer of the Class of 2025 at Scarborough High School, Flaker has volunteered locally as a youth basketball camp coach, and she's donated her time to multiple community service initiatives through her school's Key Club. "Emerson is a dedicated athlete and a supportive teammate," said Denise Curry, head coach of Scarborough High School. "She puts the work in at each workout so she can compete to her best ability."
Flaker has maintained an A average in the classroom. She has signed a written letter of athletic aid to compete at the University of Connecticut this fall.
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.
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 $5.6 million in grants to winners across more than 2,000 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 Instagram at instagram.com/Gatorade, Facebook at facebook.com/GatoradePOY and X(Twitter) at x.com/Gatorade.
