Abby Waner Photo Gallery From Presentation
HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. (March 22, 2005) - In its 20th Anniversary season of honoring the nation's elite high school athletes, Gatorade® Thirst Quencher, in partnership with Scholastic Coach & Athletic Director magazine, today announced Abby Waner of ThunderRidge High School in Highlands Ranch, Colo., as the 2005 Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year.
The award, which recognizes athletic achievement as well as the academic performance and overall character of its recipient, distinguishes Waner as the nation's best high school girls basketball player. The Gatorade National Advisory Board, a group of sportswriters and sport-specific experts from around the country, selected Waner from the near 450,000 female high school basketball players nationwide. Waner is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year Award, to be presented at an awards ceremony the afternoon prior to The ESPY Awards in July.
This season Abby, a 5-foot-11-inch senior guard, averaged 32.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 5.7 steals per game in leading ThunderRidge to a 26-2 record, its third straight Colorado 5A state championship and the No. 8 spot in the USA Today Super 25 girls basketball rankings. In her final regular season home game, Abby posted a Colorado single-game record 61 points - 30 of which came in the first quarter - to go with 17 steals.
A four-year varsity starter, Abby finished her high school career with 2,670 points (27.2 ppg), 632 rebounds (6.5 rpg), 588 assists (6.0 apg) and 535 steals (5.5 spg). ThunderRidge went 92-8 during her tenure, closing with 62 straight wins against in-state competition and 41 consecutive home court victories. She was Colorado's "Ms. Basketball" in both her junior and senior seasons. In addition to her prep accomplishments, Abby was a starter on the gold medal-winning 2004 USA Junior World Championship Qualifying Team where she averaged 12.0 points and 3.8 assists per game.
Abby's standard of excellence extends to the classroom, where she has a 3.95 GPA, a 27 ACT score and an 1160 SAT score. A member of the National Honor Society, she is active in student government, has participated in the "Adopt a Family for Christmas" program and has participated in various basketball clinics and camps as an advisor/coach.
"Abby is the consummate player about whom most coaches can only dream about," says Bill Bradley, Head Coach at ThunderRidge. "In my 15 years as a high school coach, she is one of the most diligent and relentless student-athletes I've had the pleasure of being associated with. Words can't do her justice, but her performance on the court, in the classroom and in the community speak volumes about her."
Abby will attend Duke University in the fall, where she will join older sister Emily in playing for Coach Gail Goestenkors and the Blue Devils.
"The honor bestowed upon Abby today is reflective of her demonstrated ability to play the game of basketball at the highest level; rising to the top of an extremely talented group of high school players across the nation," said Gatorade Senior Vice President of Sports Marketing Tom Fox. "For 20 years the Gatorade High School Player of the Year Award has recognized outstanding athletes who also shine in the classroom and in their communities, so it is the whole of Abby's accomplishments that have earned her a place among the best high school athletes of the past two decades."
The Gatorade High School Player of the Year program recognizes one winner in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, and awards one National Player of the Year in football, baseball, softball, volleyball, and boys' and girls' basketball, soccer, and track & field. Previous national award winners include Emmitt Smith, Lisa Leslie, Peyton Manning, Alex Rodriguez and Kerri Walsh among others.
For more information on the Gatorade Player of the Year program, including nomination information and a list of upcoming announcement dates, or the names of previous winners, visit www.gatorade.com.
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PAST GATORADE NATIONAL GIRLS BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR HONOREES
Year Name High School/Hometown Status
2005 Abby Waner ThunderRidge, Highlands Ranch, CO High School Senior
2004 Candace Parker Naperville Central, Naperville, IL Univ. of Tennessee
2003 Candace Parker Naperville Central, Naperville, IL Univ. of Tennessee
2002 Ann Strother Highlands Ranch, Highlands Ranch, CO Univ. of Connecticut
2001 Shyra Ely Ben Davis, Indianapolis, IN Univ. of Tennessee
2000 Shereka Wright Copperas Cove, Copperas Cove, TX Phoenix Mercury
1999 Nicole Kaczmarski Sachem North, Lake Rononkoma, NY Professional/Europe
1998 Tamika Williams Chaminade-Julienne, Dayton, OH Minnesota Lynx
1997 Nikki Teasley St. John's at Prospect Hall, Frederick, MD L.A. Sparks
1996 Jamie Walz Highlands, Ft. Thomas, KY Western Kentucky Grad.
1995 Stephanie McCarty Seeger, West Lebanon, IN Indiana Fever
1994 Monick Foote Samford, Wilmington, DE Univ. of Virginia Grad.
1993 La'Keshia Frett Phoebus, Hampton, VA New York Liberty
1992 Katie Smith Logan, Logan, OH Minnesota Lynx
1991 Michelle Marciniak Central Catholic, Allentown, PA Retired from WNBA
1990 Lisa Leslie Morningside, Inglewood, CA L.A. Sparks
1989 Lisa Harrison Southern, Louisville, KY Retired from WNBA
1988 Vicki Hall Brebeuf Prep, Indianapolis, IN Retired from WNBA
1987 Kris Durham Union Catholic, Scotch Plains, NJ Seaton Hall Grad.
1986 Susan Anderson Mt. Baker, Deming, WA Univ. of Texas Grad.
Women's Soccervs Carolina Ascent FC
Women's Soccerat Southern California
Women's Soccerat UCLA
Women's Soccervs FIU
Women's Soccervs Rhode Island
Women's Soccerat Old Dominion
Volleyballat Coastal Carolina
