Ramiah Elliott (North Central) has been recognized as the Gatorade Indiana Girls Track & Field Player of The Year. Just a freshman, Elliott is on track to break nearly all the sprint records in the state of Indiana. She holds the freshman class records in the 200 and 400 after this season. She was the key player in North Central's quest for the state title as she won the 200, 400 and was a member of their 4x1 and 4x4 teams.
Every year, Gatorade honors 1 female and 1 male from all 50 states for their achievements on the track, in the classroom and around their community. Elliott joins a long list of previous stars to win this award, including Lynna Irby and Semira Killebrew.
Read the full press release from Gatorade below.
CHICAGO (June 20, 2019) - In its 34th year of honoring the nation's best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company today announced Ramiah Elliott of North Central High School as its 2018-19 Gatorade Indiana Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year. Elliott is the second Gatorade Indiana Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year to be chosen from North Central 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 Elliott as Indiana'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, Elliott joins an elite alumni association of state track & field award-winners, including Lolo Jones (1997-98, Roosevelt High School, Iowa), Allyson Felix (2002-03, Los Angeles Baptist High School, Calif.), Robert Griffin III (2006-07, Copperas Cove High School, Texas), Grant Fisher (2013-14 & 2014-15, Grand Blanc High School, Mich.) and Candace Hill (2014-15, Rockdale County High School, Ga.).
The 5-foot-11 freshman won two individual events and ran legs for two first-place relays, leading the Panthers to the state championship as a team this past season. Elliott broke the tape in the 200-meter dash with a time of 23.67 seconds and took the 400 in 53.30, which ranked as the nation's No. 12 performance among prep competitors in 2019 at the time of her selection. She also led the 4x100 (45.77) and 4x400 (3:43.99) relays to victory.
A devoted member of her church community, Elliott has volunteered locally on behalf of the Humane Society and youth track programs. "Ramiah's mental maturity on the track as a freshman is on another level," said North Central High School coach Mark Haste. "She's a tireless worker, very competitive, humble, coachable and a great teammate."
Elliott has maintained a 3.86 GPA in the classroom. She will begin her sophomore 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. From the 12 national winners, one male and one female athlete are each named Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year. In all, 607 athletes are honored each year.
Elliott joins recent Gatorade Indiana Girls Track & Field Athletes of the Year Semira Killebrew (2017-18, Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School), Lynna Irby (2016-17, 2015-16 & 2014-15, Pike High School) and Symone Black (2013-14, Concordia Lutheran High School) among the state's list of former award winners. As a part of Gatorade's cause marketing platform "Play it Forward," Elliott also has the opportunity to award a $1,000 grant to a local or national youth sports organization of her choosing. She 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.
Since the program's inception in 1985, Gatorade Player of the Year award recipients have won hundreds of professional and college championships, and many have also turned into pillars in their communities, becoming coaches, business owners and educators.
To learn more about the Gatorade Player of the Year program, check out past winners or to nominate student-athletes, visit www.Gatorade.com/POY, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GatoradePOY or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Gatorade.