Let's Hear it for the Girls: 2011 Gatorade High School Female Athletes of the Year

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LOS ANGELES (July 12, 2011) - Some of the biggest names in high school and professional sports convened in Los Angeles Tuesday night as Gatorade honored the top prep male and female athletes with the ninth annual Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year awards.

The dinner was emceed by ESPN's Stuart Scott and attended by professional athletes such as Lisa Leslie (1989-90 Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year), Jessica Mendoza (U.S. Women's Softball National Team Member, 2004-2010, and current ESPN analyst), Allyson Felix (2003 Gatorade Female High School Athlete of the Year) and Joanna Hayes (1995 Gatorade National Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year).

Established in 1995, 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. In addition to athletic excellence, the award recognizes academic achievement and exemplary character on and off the field. In 2003, the Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year awards were established to identify and honor the nation's top overall male and female high school athletes from among the 12 Gatorade National Players of the Year honored during the high school athletic season. The first athletes to be recognized with this honor in 2003 were basketball player LeBron James and track & field athlete Allyson Felix.

All Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year nominees got to walk the ESPY red carpet the following evening and were featured as special guests during The ESPY Awards Show.

Biographies of the Female Nominees:

Krista Vansant (Volleyball):

Position: Outside Hitter

School: Redlands East Valley (Redlands, CA)

Year: Senior

Consistently facing double and triple blocks and saddled with a team-talent deficit against most elite Southern California teams, Vansant downright willed Redlands East Valley to the 2011 CIF Southern Section 1A championship game, accumulating 1,164 kills, combined, as a junior and senior. She has a 3.64 GPA, is a local chapter member of Rachel's Challenge, a national student empowerment initiative and coaches youth volleyball. She will play for the University of Washington in the fall.

Aisling Cuffe (Cross-Country)

Events: Cross-Country, 1600m/mile, 3000m/3200m/2-mile

School: Cornwall Central High (New Windsor, NY)

Year: Senior

Coffe won the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships title by a record margin last fall after toppling a seemingly unbreakable course record at the Foot Locker Northeast Regional. This spring, she followed up by obliterating the outdoor track national high school record in the 2-mile in addition to clocking the nation's top 2011 times in the 1600-meter run, the 3000-meter run and the 3200-meter run. She is ranked 3rd in her class with a 4.0 GPA, volunteers on behalf of area youth road races and track invitational meets, and is a National Honor Society member. She has signed with Stanford University.

Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (Basketball)

Position: Guard

School: Mater Dei (Santa Ana, CA)

Year: Senior

The consensus national Player of the Year and Mater Dei's career leader in points (2,744) and rebounds (876) and 3-pointers (337), Mosqueda-Lewis led the Monarchs to a four-year record of 123-7 en route to three consecutive CIF-Southern Section Division 1AA titles and back-to-back CIF state championships. She holds a 3.42 GPA and is the Commissioner of the Mater Dei High School student-government body. She also volunteers on behalf of Down Syndrome Association of Orange County, the Blind Children's Learning Center, the Urban Compass Christmas Outreach and the Special Olympics. She will play for Geno Auriemma and the UConn Huskies next year.

Paige McDuffee (Softball)

Position: Pitcher

School: The Woodlands High School (The Woodlands, TX)

Year: Junior

Gutting her way through injuries in what is arguably the nation's toughest state championship softball tournament, McDuffee won 12 postseason games along with 25 in the regular season to bring The Woodlands its first state title in program history. Averaging 1.1 strikeouts and less than one hits-plus-walks per inning - pitched in one of the nation's most potent offensive regions, McDuffee led her squad to a No. 1 national ranking. She holds a 3.37 GPA, participated in The Woodlands High School Adopt-a-Family program and volunteers at the Lena Pope Home for at-risk youth as well as Cook Children's Hospital.

Amy Weissenbach (Track & Field)

Event: 800m

School: Harvard-Westlake (Studio City, CA)

Year: Junior

One of only three high school-age girls in history to run sub-2:02.2 in the 800-meter run, Weissenbach set a California state record in the event along with a new national record (vs. prep-only competition) this spring. Her winning time at the CIF state meet would have captured the 2011 NCAA Division I Women's Track & Field Championships collegiate national title in the 800-meter run and would have won 18 of the 30 NCAA Division I 800m title races ever contested. Weissenbach was also a key cog for two national title-winning relay squads in 2011, including a DMR foursome that set a new national record. She holds a 3.85 GPA, was a National Merit Semifinalist and was awarded Summa Cum Laude honors on the National Latin Exam. She is a member of the Harvard-Westlake select Chamber Singers performance choir and volunteers as a weekly tutor for underserved youth on behalf of "A Place Called Home" in South Central Los Angeles.

And the winner is...

As you can see, the competition is fierce. Not only are these nominees' athlete accomplishments astounding, but even more so are their academic achievements and commitment to giving back to their communities.

The 2011 Gatorade Female High School Athlete of the Year is....

Gatorade Athletes of the Year Morgan Brian (Soccer) and Dylan Bundy (Baseball)

Morgan Brian (Soccer)

Position: Central Midfielder

School: Frederica Academy (St. Simons, GA)

Year: Senior

Possessing a soccer skill set at the attacking midfield position that arguably no other player in the U.S. system currently owns, Brian captained the U.S. Soccer U-20 Women's National Team this spring at age 18 and led her high school squad to a fourth straight state title, averaging 3.9 goals and 1.7 assists per game. The U.S. Soccer U-17 career scoring leader, she's led her club team to a USYSA national championship game and six State Cup final four appearances in seven seasons. She holds a 3.84 GPA, was the Class President from 2008 through 2010, and is the Co-Creator of Many Hearts, One Goal Foundation, which brought the displaced Haitian U-17 team to Florida for training and won an AT&T; National Sportsmanship Award.

Said Mike Dickey, technical advisor for U.S. Soccer:

There's nobody like her. She will be an important player with the U.S. Women's National Team, her commitment and makeup are tremendous.

Left to Right: Allyson Felix, Morgan Brian, Lisa Leslie, Jessica Mendoza

Congratulations to all the nominees and to overall winner, Morgan Brian!

Below is a video montage of interviews with the nominees, sans Mosqueda-Lewis, who was unable to attend the banquet.

Stay tuned for more video interviews with the pro athlete presenters!

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