Martin Barco is this year's honoree for the Indiana Boys Track & Field Gatorade Player of the Year. Barco had a remarkable track season, including becoming the state champion in both the 800m and 1600m events earlier this month, despite rainy conditions.
Barco's impressive performances extended to the national stage, where he ran a 3:47.73 in the 1500m at the USATF U20 Championships in Oregon. Earlier this season, he clocked an outstanding 4:02.94 for the full mile (equivalent to a 4:01.53 1600m) to win the Trials of Miles in New York.
Next year, Barco will join the University of Washington, a program well known for its talented squad of milers. With his potential, a sub-4-minute mile could be within reach as soon as his freshman year. With collegiate conference realignment, Barco will continue to compete against many Midwest schools, at least in the conference championships, as Washington joins the Big Ten this fall.
Press Release from Gatorade
CHICAGO (June 27, 2024) - In its 39th year of honoring the nation's most elite high school athletes, Gatorade today announced Martin Barco of Martinsville High School is the 2023-24 Gatorade Indiana Boys Track & Field Player of the Year. Barco is the first Gatorade Indiana Boys Track & Field Player of the Year to be chosen from Martinsville 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 Barco as Indiana's best high school boys track & field player. 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 Alan Webb (2000-01, South Lakes High School, Va.), Kerron Clement (2002-03, Laporte High School, Texas) and Grant Fisher (2014-15 & 2013-14, Grand Blanc High School, Mich.).
The 6-foot-1 170-pound senior distance talent swept the 800- and 1600-meter events at the state meet this past season, producing top national times in both events. Barco's personal-best winning 1600 time of 4:06.34 seconds ranked No. 21 nationally among prep competitors this spring and No. 5 in state history. His 800 clocking of 1:50.97 was a PR and was tied for No. 44 nationally. Barco finished the season ranked in the national Top 50 in five distance events. He also took third in the 1500 at the USATF U20 Championships with a personal-best 3:47.73.
A member of his school's Student Athlete Leadership Team, Red and Blue Crew and French Club, Barco has volunteered locally on behalf of Unified Sports competitions serving physically and intellectually challenged youth athletes in Morgan County. He also serves as part of the Emmanuel Church Campus Youth Group, and has donated his time as a referee at youth soccer camps and clinics. "Martin Barco may prove to be one of the recruiting steals of the season for the University of Washington," said Rich Gonzalez of PrepCalTrack. "Having grown up on the soccer pitches, he has since built his stamina on the oval using an impressive frame that generates nice power for a distance runner. His range this spring was highly impressive."
Barco has maintained a 3.29 weighted GPA in the classroom. He has signed a National Letter of Intent to compete on scholarship at the University of Washington 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.
Barco joins recent Gatorade Indiana Boys Track & Field Players of the Year Cody Johnston (2022-23, Hobart High School), Tucker Smith (2021-22 & 2020-21, Columbus North High School) and Jason Swarens (2019-20, South Vigo 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.
