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 Osborne as Mississippi’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, Osborne joins an elite alumni association of 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.), Mark Sanchez (2004-05, Mission Viejo HS, Calif.) and Lolo Jones (1997-98, Roosevelt HS, Ia.).
The 6-foot-3, 200-pound senior won the 110-meter high hurdles with a state-record time of 13.95 seconds and captured the 300-meter intermediate hurdles in 38.23 at the Class 5A state championships this spring, leading the Pirates to a third-place finish as a team. Osborne’s season-best time of 13.88 in the 110 hurdles ranked as the nation’s No. 9 performance
among prep competitors in 2013 at the time of his selection.
Osborne has maintained a 3.53 GPA in the classroom. He has volunteered locally on behalf of Habitat for Humanity. “Evan is always trying to get better, each and every day,” said Pearl High head coach Chris Barnett. “He likes to do all the small things right, and he’s very good about helping other members of the team get better and learn how to be great.” Osborne has signed a National Letter of Intent to compete in track and field on an athletic scholarship at the University of Southern Mississippi this fall.
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 high school sports leadership team in partnership with USA TODAY High School Sports, 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.
Osborne joins recent Gatorade Mississippi Boys Track & Field Athletes of the Year Justin Fondren (2011-12,Oxford High School), Sam Kendricks (2010–11, Oxford HighSchool), Marcus Jackson (2009-10, J.Z. George), Willie Calvin (2008–09,Greenville-Weston), Morris Kersh (2007-08, Pearl), and Martin Lee (2006-2007,Greenville-Weston) among the state’s list of former award winners.
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For more on the Gatorade Player of the Year program, including nomination information, a complete list of
past winners and the announcement of the Gatorade National Player of the Year, visit
www.gatorade.com/poy
.