Sierra Lutheran student-athlete named Gatorade Nevada Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year

In its 34th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company has announced Jared Marchegger of Sierra Lutheran High School as its 2018-19 Gatorade Nevada Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year.

Marchegger is the second Gatorade Nevada Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year to be chosen from Sierra Lutheran 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 field, distinguishes Marchegger as Nevada’s best high school boys cross country runner.

Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year award to be announced in February, Marchegger joins an elite alumni association of past state award-winners in 12 sports, including Lukas Verzbicas (2010-11, 2009-10 Carl Sandburg, Orland Park High School, Ill.), Donn Cabral (2007-08, Glastonbury High School, Glastonbury, Conn.) and Chris Derrick (2007-08, Neuqua Valley High School, Naperville, Ill.).

The 6-foot, 130-pound senior raced to his third consecutive Class 2A individual state championship this past season with a time of 16:51.5, leading the Falcons to a second-place finish as a team.

Marchegger also broke the tape at the Northern Region championships, the Fernley Roadhill Invitational, the North Tahoe Kiwanis Mountain Motivational Invitational and the Small School division of the Nike Cross Nationals Southwest Regional championships.

A talented musician, Marchegger has volunteered as an altar server at his church and has helped build and maintain bike trails in his community.

“Jared goes above and beyond what we ask him to do, with enthusiasm,” said Sierra Lutheran coach Steve Kubel. “At every practice he pushes himself to improve, and despite occasional injuries and his congenital scoliosis, he continues to be motivated.”

Marchegger has maintained a 3.81 GPA in the classroom. He recently signed a letter of intent to attend the University of Nevada, Reno, on a scholarship to compete on the Wolf Pack Men's Cross Country team, Sierra Lutheran High School reported.

"Jared Marchegger officially signed with UNR on Wednesday, February 6 with his family and coaches present," the school said in a press release. "Jared has been awarded a full-ride scholarship to join the inaugural UNR Cross Country Team. During his ceremony, Coaches Matt Pendola and Steven Kubel shared about Jared’s amazing character on and off the course. Pendola summed up Jared’s high school career in three words: 'grace, guts, and gratitude.'"

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.

From the 12 national winners, one male and one female athlete are each named Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year. In all, 607 athletes are honored each year.

Marchegger joins Gatorade Nevada Boys Cross Country Runners of the Year William Fallini-Haas (2017-18, Spring Creek High School), Anthony Ocegueda (2016-17, Reed High School), Chase Wood (2015-16, Faith Lutheran High School), DaJour Braxton (2014-15, Centennial High School), and Kai Benedict (2013-14, McQueen High School) as athletes who have won the cross country award since its inception in 2007.

As a part of Gatorade’s cause marketing platform “Play it Forward,” Marchegger has the opportunity to award a $1,000 grant to a local or national youth sports organization of his choosing. He is also eligible to submit an essay to win one of twelve $10,000 spotlight grants for the organization of choice, which will be announced throughout the year.

Since the program’s inception in 1985, Gatorade Player of the Year award recipients have won hundreds of professional and college championships, and many have also turned into pillars in their communities, becoming coaches, business owners and educators.

To learn more about the Gatorade Player of the Year program, check out past winners or to nominate student athletes, visit www.Gatorade.com/POY, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GatoradePOY or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Gatorade.