Hadley Lucas has had one of the best high school throwing careers in the history of the nation. She would go undefeated in competition within the state this year between the discus and shot put. This year she would tie for the third furthest throw in the discus with her 175-0 effort from the Bloomington North Regional. Her shot put performances have been even more impressive including a toss of 54-10 at the Conference Indiana Championships. This throw would easily secure the top of the nation's high school leaderboard for the event with the nearest tow competitors across the country having marks of 52-6.
Lucas would avenge her runner-up finish in the discus this year at the state meet to win both throwing events. She would end up placing 4th in the shot put and 6th in the discus at the USATF U20 Championships later in the month. Lucas is set to compete for one of the best throws programs in the nation with the University of Wisconsin. She will also be joining the Big Ten which sees a large addition of programs starting this year with conference reallignment.
Gatorade Press Release
CHICAGO (June 25, 2024) - In its 39th year of honoring the nation's most elite high school athletes, Gatorade today announced Hadley Lucas of Bloomington High School North is the 2023-24 Gatorade Indiana Girls Track & Field Player of the Year. Lucas is the first Gatorade Indiana Girls Track & Field Player of the Year to be chosen from Bloomington High School North.
The award, which celebrates the nation's top high school athletes for excellence on the field, in the classroom and in the community, distinguishes Lucas as Indiana's best high school girls track & field athlete. 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 Sanya Richards-Ross (2001-02, St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Fla), Sydney McLaughlin (2016-17, 2015-16 & 2014-15, Union Catholic High School, N.J.) and Angelina Napoleon (2022-23, Allegany-Limestone Central School, N.Y.).
The 6-foot senior thrower broke the state record in two events this past season, leading the Cougars to a second- place finish at the state championships. Lucas launched the shot put 54 feet, 10.75 inches at her Conference Championships to produce the nation's No. 1 effort among girls prep competitors in 2024, which ranks No. 3 in prep history. Her personal-best discus throw of 175-0 at the IHSAA Regional 7 meet tied for the U.S. No. 3 mark this spring. She also won state titles in both events and took gold at the Midwest Meet of Champions in the shot put.
Lucas has volunteered locally on behalf of the 4H Club as part of Operation Christmas Child, which ensures that all children receive a gift on Christmas Day. She has also donated her time at the Wheeler Mission, preparing and serving food for those in need. "Hadley Lucas raised her game considerably her senior year-going from one of the premier shot put talents in state history to one of our nation's all-time greats in a span of 12 months," said Rich Gonzalez, editor for PrepCalTrack.com. Adding nearly five feet in distance to her prior best, which is mind- boggling, she soared to No. 3 in U.S. prep history."
Lucas has maintained a 3.82 GPA in the classroom. She has signed a National Letter of Intent to compete on scholarship at the University of Wisconsin 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.
Lucas joins recent Gatorade Indiana Girls Track & Field Players of the Year Nicki Southerland (2022-23, Delta High School), Addy Wiley (2021-22 & 2020-21, Huntington North High School) and Ramiah Elliott (2019-20, North Central 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.