For 2nd Consecutive Year, Burgess Named Gatorade Massachusetts Boys Cross-Country Runner of the Year

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FRAMINGHAM – In its 38th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, Gatorade today, January 30, announced Sam Burgess of Framingham High School is the 2022-23 Gatorade Massachusetts Boys Cross Country Player of the Year.

Burgess is the first Gatorade Massachusetts Boys Cross Country Player of the Year to be chosen from Framingham High School, and this is the second consecutive year he has received this honor.

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 Burgess as Massachusetts’ best high school boys cross country player.

Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Boys Cross Country Player of the Year award to be announced in February, Burgess joins an elite alumni association of state award-winners, including Parker Wolfe (2020-21, Cherry Creek High School, Greenwood Village, Colo.), Nico Young (2019-20, Newbury Park High School, Newbury Park, Calif.), Megan Goethals (2009-10, Rochester High School, Rochester Hills, Mich.) and Jordan Hasay (2008-09, Mission College Preparatory Catholic High School, San Luis Obispo, Calif.).

The state’s returning Gatorade Player of the Year, the 5-foot-11, 155-pound senior raced to a seventh-place finish at Champs Sports Nationals in a time of 15:13.6 to earn All-America status.

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Burgess also placed second at the Champs Sports Northeast Regional. He captured the MIAA Division 1A title and clocked a runner-up performance at the state championships. Burgess has volunteered locally on behalf of the Keep Framingham Beautiful program.

“Framingham High senior Sam Burgess performed at his best on the grandest stage, taking seventh at Champs Sports Nationals to earn AllAmerica status,” said PrepCalTrack editor Rich Gonzalez. “The Harvard University-bound senior was sidelined for much of the calendar year by injury before returning in midseason and rallying for a strong postseason finish.”

Burgess has maintained an unweighted 4.30 GPA in the classroom. He will attend Harvard University this fall, where he will compete in cross country and track.

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.

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The selection process is administered by the Gatorade Player of the Year Selection Committee, which leverages experts including coaches, scouts, media and others as sources to help evaluate and determine the state winners in each sport.

Two-time winner Burgess joins recent Gatorade Massachusetts Boys Cross Country Players of the Year Loeden Rodrigues (2020-21, Marblehead High School), Mike Griffin (2019-20, King Philip Regional High School), and Ryan Oosting (2018-19, Arlington High School), among the state’s list of former award winners.

Being a Gatorade Player of the Year means paying it forward for the next generation.

Through Gatorade’s Play it Forward initiative, every Player of the Year receives a grant to give to one of Gatorade’s social impact partners, supporting Gatorade’s ambition to fuel the future of sport. To date, Gatorade Player of the Year winners’ grants have totaled more than $3.5 million across more than 1,300 organizations. For nearly 40 years, Gatorade has honored high school athletes at the top of their game as teammates, supporting their communities and achieving academic success. From CEOs and coaches to star athletes and community leaders, Gatorade Player of the Year winners showcase the power of sport.

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