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Sandia Prep junior Kate Henderson ’25 has been named the 2023-2024 Gatorade New Mexico Girls Cross Country Player of the Year. This marks the first time a Prep student has won the prestigious honor in Cross Country.

The award, which celebrates the nation’s top high school athletes for excellence on the field, in the classroom, and in the community, distinguishes Henderson as New Mexico’s best high school girls cross country player. 

The 5-foot-4 junior raced to a Top 30 finish in the highly competitive Nike Cross Southwest Region Girls Championship Race this past season, crossing the line with a personal-best time of 18:03.66. 

Henderson also took third at the Class 3A State meet -- a loss she avenged at Nike -- leading the Sundevils to second place as a team. 

At the Los Lunas Invitational, she won by 41 seconds, lifting her squad to the program’s first invitational meet team victory in five years.

Henderson “rose to new levels this year,” said Rich Gonzalez, editor of PrepCalTrack.com, a California-based website for prep cross-country and track & field information. “She saved her best for last, taking 28th at the Nike Cross Southwest Region championship -- the top time by a New Mexico high schooler at the toughest regional meet in America.”

An accomplished artist in the media of acrylic canvas printing, ceramics, and photography, Henderson has volunteered with the Helping Hands community service club at Prep, which undertakes numerous projects around the campus and larger community.

She also has donated her time to help coordinate a student body workforce that supports Locker 505, a student clothing bank that provides school attire to Bernalillo County students in need. 

Henderson has maintained a 3.98 GPA in the classroom and is a member of the National Honor Society.

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.

As part of Gatorade’s commitment to breaking down barriers in sports, 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.

This is a very proud moment for Kate, for Cross Country, and for Prep. Congratulations, Kate!