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[align=center]HOMESTEAD HIGH SCHOOL STANDOUT NAMED GATORADE® WISCONSIN BOYS TRACK & FIELD ATHLETE OF THE YEAR[/align]

In its 25th year of honoring the nation s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with ESPN RISE, today announced Gabe Genovesi of Homestead High School as its 2010 Gatorade Wisconsin Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year. Genovesi is the second Gatorade Wisconsin Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year to be chosen from Homestead High School.



The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the track, distinguishes Genovesi as Wisconsin s best high school boys track & field athlete. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year award to be announced in June, Genovesi joins an elite alumni association of past state award-winners in 12 sports, including Ryan Hall (1999-01, Big Bear HS, Calif.), Meb Keflezighi (1993-94, San Diego HS, Calif.), Derek Jeter (1991-92, Kalamazoo HS, Mich.), Candace Parker (2001-02, Naperville Central HS, Ill.), Kevin Garnett (1992-93, Maudlin HS, S.C.), Mark Sanchez (2004-05, Mission Viejo HS, Calif.) and Lolo Jones (1997-98, Roosevelt HS, Ia.).



The 6-foot-2, 180-pound senior middle distance runner won the 800-meter run at the Division I state meet this spring and anchored two winning relay quartets to led the Highlanders to the state team title. The 2010 Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel Track and Field Athlete of the Year broke a 29-year-old state record by breaking the tape in the 800 with a time of 1:51.55, which ranked as the nation s No. 12 time among prep competitors at the time of his selection. A 2010 First Team All-Area selection, Genovesi also anchored the 4x400-meter relay, which clocked a winning time of 3:18.78, and the 4x800 foursome, which posted a 7:46.82.



Genovesi has maintained a 3.33 GPA in the classroom. He has volunteered locally as a youth soccer coach and on behalf of a campaign to collect shoes and socks for disadvantaged children.



"Every time Gabe Genovesi stepped on the track this season, we knew it was pretty much over," said Homestead High Head Coach Dan Benson. "As a coach, that s a great feeling."



Genovesi has signed a National Letter of Intent to play soccer on scholarship at the University of Akron this fall.



Past Wisconsin winners of the Gatorade Athlete of the Year include Matt Widule (Menomonee Falls, 2009), Paul Annear (Richland Center, 2007 & 2008), Chris Solinsky (Stevens Point, 2002 & 2003), B.J. Tucker (Nicolet, 1999), Michael Bennett (Milwaukee Bradley Tech, 1998) and Gabe Jennings (Madison East, 1996 & 1997). To view all the past winners, click here.



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 RISE and 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.