Video: Highlights from the 16th annual Gatorade National Athlete of the Year ceremony Former USC quarterback Sam Darnold helped present current USC QB JT Daniels with award.
A prolific quarterback already enrolled in college and a record-breaking sophomore runner were the big winners in the 16th annual Gatorade National Athlete of the Year ceremony at the Ritz Carlton Hotel.
JT Daniels, who led
Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) to a national championship on the gridiron, and
Katelyn Tuohy of
North Rockland (Thiells, N.Y.), the first two-sport national winner of the award — cross country, and track and field — walked away with the big prizes from the lavish event.
Female and male winners Katelyn Tuohy and JT Daniels (center bottom row) are surrounded by Gatorade presenters. Top row (L-R): Travis Kelce, Peyton Manning, Karl-Anthony Towns, Todd Gurley and Abby Wambach. Bottom row (L-R): Sydney McLaughlin, Tuohy, Daniels and Sam Darnold.
Photo by Chris Stonebraker
Tuohy won the Nike Cross Nationals in the fall before setting several landmark distance records in track and field during the spring.
The 5-foot-4 standout took the national cross country race, covering the 3.1-mile course in a course-record 16 minutes, 44.7 seconds. She won the race by a remarkable 41 seconds over the second-place finisher. Tuohy then ran U.S. prep record times
in the mile (4:33.87) and 3,200 meters (9:47.88). She also won state
titles in the 3,000 and 1,500. And to top it off, she carried a 4.59 grade point average throughout the school year.
She was presented with the award by former World Cup hero Abby Wambach.
"I can feel my heart beating in my chest right now," Tuohy said after receiving the award. She thanked her parents, teammates, their parents and Gatorade, before congratulating the other winners.
Daniels threw for 4,123 yards and 52 touchdowns, while also rushing for 561 yards and nine more scores. The MaxPreps Football Player of the Year guided the Monarchs to a 15-0 record before enrolling at USC, where he is expected to compete for the starting job as a true freshman. He threw for 12,014 career yards and 152 touchdowns during a three-year career.
Daniels was presented with the award by future Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning.
"It's honestly difficult to put into words what winning this award means and how honored I am to receive it," Daniels said.
Other presenters included Karl-Anthony Towns, Todd Gurley, Sam Darnold, Travis Kelce and Sydney McLaughlin, who won the girls Athlete of the Year award the two previous years.
There was also a special presentation to the award's founder Bruce Weber, who passed away in May. Weber started the state and national awards 33 years ago. Among previous overall winners: LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Emmitt Smith, Peyton Manning, Clayton Kershaw, Gary Sheffield, Maya Moore, Candace Parker and Allyson Felix.
Daniels and Tuohy beat out single-sport national winners, all who were present at the ceremony. All will be honored Wednesday at the ESPYs in Hollywood.
Boys
Baseball — Ryan Weathers of Loretto (Tenn.): The
6-2 left-handed pitcher and first baseman hit .434 with nine doubles,
five home runs and 26 RBIs. On the mound he was 10-0 and a 0.09 ERA
leading the Mustangs (33-4) to a Division I, Class A state title game.
Basketball — R.J. Barrett of Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.): The 6-7 guard led his team to a MaxPreps national championship and a 32-0 record by averaging 28.7 points, 8.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. He's enrolled at Duke and was also the MaxPreps National Basketball Player of the Year.
Cross country — Aidan Troutner of Timpview (Provo, Utah): The
5-9 senior won the national championship at the Nike Cross
Nationals Finals in Oregon, covering the 3.1-mile course in 15:03.9 seconds. The 3.89 student will run for Brigham Young University.
Soccer — Ousseni Bouda of Millbrook (N.Y.): The 5-11, 165-pound junior scored 49 goals and had four assists for the Mustangs. He scored more than 80 percent of their goals.
Track and Field — Anthony Swartz of American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.). The world youth record holder in the 100- and 200-meter dash, Swartz ran the fourth-fastest 100 in U.S. prep history, going 10.09 seconds in the Great Southwest Classic. Also a scholarship football player to Auburn, the 6-foot, 180-pound senior ran the 200 in 20.47.
Passing the torch from one USC quarterback to another: JT Daniels (left) poses with presenter Sam Darnold.
Photo by Chris Stonebraker
Girls
Soccer — Isabella D'Aquila of JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.): The
5-7 junior striker had 39 goals and 15 assists for the Lions (22-2-3),
who won the Southern Section Division 1 title for a second straight season. D'Aquila, a Santa
Clara commit, scored the lone goal in a 1-0 championship game win.
Softball — Megan Faraimo of Cathedral Catholic (San Diego, Calif.): The
6-1 senior pitcher went 26-3 with a 0.23 ERA, leading the Dons (28-4)
to a San Diego Section Open Division title. She had five no-hitters and
four perfect games. She also hit .316 with seven home runs. She'll play
at UCLA next season.
Volleyball — Thayer Hall of Dorman (Roebuck, S.C.): The 6-4 outside hitter led the Cavaliers to a 43-6-1 record with 638 kills, 361 digs and 43 aces. The U.S. Women's Junior National player is already enrolled at the University of Florida.
Katelyn Tuohy (right) poses with two-time national athlete award winner and 2016 Olympian, Sydney McLaughlin.
Photo by Chris Stonebraker
