Miami Recruit Named Gatorade National Athlete of the Year

July 14, 2010

CORAL GABLES  –  University of Miami incoming freshman Ashton Purvis (Oakland, Calif.) was chosen from over 457,000 high school female track and field athletes nationwide as the Gatorade National Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year.

“I am extremely proud of Ashton’s accomplishments on and of the track,” said Director of Track and Field Amy Deem. “She is well deserving of this honor.”

The award, announced while Purvis was in class in a surprise visit from Cleveland Cavaliers forward Leon Powe (Gatorade California Boys Basketball Player of the Year 2003), recognizes athletes with dynamic achievements both on and off the field and who are involved in their community.

The 5-8 sprinter won the 100m dash with a time of 11.17 seconds and the 200m dash in 22.90 at the California Interscholastic Federation state championship meet this spring, leading her St. Elizabeth High School team to a fifth-place finish. Her 200m time ranks as the nation’s best among prep competitors in 2010, while her 100m time ranked No. 2. Purvis’ season-best 100 ranks sixth in prep history and only eight prep girls have ever run a faster 200.

The gold medalist in the 200-meter dash and the silver medalist in the 100 at the 2010 Junior Outdoor Championships, she qualified for this month’s 2010 IAAF World Junior Championship in both events. The 2010 Female Athlete of the Year as named by the Bay Area News Group-East Bay, Purvis won the 200-meter dash and the 60-meter dash at the National Scholastic Indoor Championships in March. 

A member of Team USA at the International Association of Athletics Federation World Youth Championships in each of the past three summers, she was the fastest American in earning bronze in both the 100- and 200-meter dash last summer.  She captured first place in the 100-meter dash at the 2008 CIF state meet as a sophomore and first place in the 200-meter dash as a junior at the 2009 CIF state meet.

Purvis has maintained a B average in the classroom. A member of her school’s Black Student Union as well as the Drama Club, she has donated more than 100 hours of community service throughout her prep career, volunteering as a K-8 tutor, on behalf of the Rainbow Recreation Center enrichment programs, and in association with Project Transition Oakland, a community support organization.  A participant in the East Oakland Youth Development Center’s Youth Leadership Program and the invite-only Tavis Smiley Foundation’s Youth Leadership Institute, Purvis has also donated her time as a peer tutor and youth athletic instructor. In addition, she has mentored youth athletes with the 100 Black Men of the Bay Area track & field training program as well as the Pacific Association and the 3M Track Club.

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 ESPN RISEand the Gatorade high school sports leadership team, which work with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.

“Ashton’s mother and her coach have prepared her well for the transition from high school to college and I look forward to assisting in her growth as she enters the next stage of her life,” added Deem.

Purvis will enroll at Miami this fall and will look to begin competition during the 2011 indoor season.

ALL-TIME GATORADE NATIONAL GIRLS TRACK & FIELD ATHLETES OF THE YEAR