PRESS RELEASE | In its 39th year of honoring the nation's most elite high school athletes, Gatorade today announced Annaleise Taylor of Canyon View High School is the 2023-24 Gatorade Arizona Girls Track & Field Player of the Year. Taylor is the first Gatorade Arizona Girls Track & Field Player of the Year to be chosen from Canyon View High School.
The award, which celebrates the nation's top high school athletes for excellence on the field, in the classroom and in the community, distinguishes Taylor as Arizona's best high school girls track & field athlete. From CEOs and coaches to star athletes, Gatorade Player of the Year winners showcase the power of sport, touting an all-star group of alumni that includes Sanya Richards-Ross (2001-02, St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Fla), Sydney McLaughlin (2016-17, 2015-16 & 2014-15, Union Catholic High School, N.J.) and Angelina Napoleon (2022-23, Allegany-Limestone Central School, N.Y.).
The 5-foot-5 senior hurdler earned the gold medal at the AIA state meet this past season, winning the 300-meter race in 41.15 seconds and taking silver in the 100 hurdles, leading her team to third place. In the state prelims, Taylor raced to victory in 41.09 in the 300 hurdles, the second-fastest clocking in state history, which ranked No. 5 in the nation among preps in 2024. She also produced U.S. Top 25 performances in the 100- and 400-meter hurdles this spring.
Taylor has volunteered locally as part of community service initiatives with Hope Assembly Church. She has also donated her time mentoring in the Youth Cheer program at Western Sky Middle School.
Taylor has maintained a weighted 3.37 GPA in the classroom. She has signed a National Letter of Intent to compete on scholarship at the University of Oregon 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 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.
Taylor joins recent Gatorade Arizona Girls Track & Field Players of the Year Catherine Littlewood (2022-23, Queen Creek High School), Joy Moorer (2021-22, North Canyon High School), Makayla Long (2020-21, Perry High School) and Jadyn Mays (2019-20, North Canyon High School), among the state's list of former award winners. As part of Gatorade's commitment to breaking down barriers in sport, every Player of the Year also receives a grant to donate to a social impact partner. To date, the Gatorade Player of the Year program has provided more than $4.9 million in grants to winners across more than 1,900 organizations.
