Pinedale’s Madison Antonino Chosen the Gatorade Wyoming Girls Cross Country Player of the Year

For the first time, Pinedale has a Gatorade Wyoming Girls Cross County Player of the Year winner in junior Madison Antonino. She received the 2023-24 award on Monday. Antonino runs cross country for Jackson Hole High School as part of a co-op program but attends PHS. She earned her first Gatorade Award and is the third winner from Jackson Hole High School. Antonino is now a finalist for the Gatorade National Cross County Player of the Year award which will be announced later this month. Wyoming had the national winner three years ago, which was Sydney Thorvaldson from Rawlins.

In its 39th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company announced Antonino’s honor via a press release. The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Antonino as Wyoming’s best high school girls’ cross-country runner.

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The 5-2 junior won the Class 4A state cross-country championship last fall in Cheyenne. Her time was 18:17.2. She won that race by over 52 seconds. Antonino recorded a personal-best time of 18:06.20 and was the state’s top finisher at the Nike Northwest Regional Championships last November. She was the state’s fastest prep girl at every meet she entered. That included an elite field at the prestigious Bob Firman Invitational, where she placed seventh, and the Cardinal Classic, where Madison came in sixth place.

In a release from The Gatorade Company, Rich Gonzalez of PrepCalTrack said Antonino’s strong junior season provides a foundation for a great senior year ahead.

“Making the daily 90-mile, one-way treks to and from practice, Madison Antonino made sure her time was well invested. She laid the foundation for a much-anticipated senior season as the state’s best against top competition in 2023.”

Antonino maintains a 3.92 GPA in the classroom. Actively involved in a variety of church functions, Antonino plans weekly group activities mentoring local youth and visiting the elderly to assist them in decorating for the holidays. She is also involved annually in co-organizing a Turkey Trot that provides opportunities for elementary school kids to race.

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, Gatorade Player of the Year winners’ grants have totaled more than $4.9 million across more than 1,600 organizations.

Antonino joins Sydney Morrell from Cheyenne Central (2022-23), Kate Brigham of Jackson (2021-22), and Sydney Thorvaldson from Rawlins (2020-21, 2019-20, 2018-19, & 2017-18) as recent Gatorade Wyoming Girls Cross County Player of the Year award winners.

*Information from a press release from the Gatorade Company was used in this story.