In its 34th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, the Gatorade Company, via press release announced on February 11th Joe Waskom of Mount Si High School as its 2018-19 Gatorade Washington Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year. Waskom is the first Gatorade Washington Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year to be chosen from Mount Si 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 field, distinguishes Waskom as Washington’s best high school boys cross country runner. Joe is also now a finalist for the Gatorade National Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year award to be announced later this month.
The 6-foot, 145-pound senior won to the Class 4A individual state championship this past season with a time of 15:16.2. Waskom took fourth at the Nike Cross Nationals Northwest Regional championships and finished 33rd nationally at the NXN Final. He crossed the line third at the Nike BorderClash, where he was the state’s top finisher, and also placed third at the NikePortland XC Invitational. Waskom also has volunteered locally on behalf of a food bank and the Special Olympics.
“No one else I’ve ever coached has the combination of talent, work ethic and overall awesome human nature that Joe Waskom has,” said Mount Si coach Sean Sundwall. “He’s worked hard every single practice for four years, and more importantly, he’s been the catalyst for getting the
same out of many of his teammates.”
Waskom has maintained a 3.83 GPA in the classroom. He has signed a National Letter of Intent to compete in cross country and track and field on scholarship at the University of Washington this fall.
Waskom joins Gatorade Washington Boys Cross Country Runners of the Year James Mwaura (2017-18, Lincoln High School), Tibedu Proctor (2016-17, The Northwest School), Justin Janke (2015-16, North Central High School), Tanner Anderson (2014- 15, North Central High School), and Kai Wilmot (2013-14, North Central High School) as athletes who have won the cross country award since its inception in 2007.
As a part of Gatorade’s cause marketing platform “Play it Forward,” Waskom has the opportunity to award a $1,000 grant to a local or national youth sports organization of his choosing. He is also eligible to submit an essay to win one of twelve $10,000 spotlight grants for the organization of choice, which will be announced throughout the year.
