Junior Matt Farrell has been named the 2018–19 Gatorade Connecticut Boys Cross Country Player of the Year.
The award "recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field." As Connecticut's honoree, Farrell also will be considered for the national Gatorade Player of the Year award.
As part of the statewide award, Farrell will choose a youth sports organization to receive a $1,000 grant through the Gatorade Play It Forward program and is eligible to submit an essay to win a $10,000 spotlight grant for the organization of his choice.
Matt is the fourth Loomis athlete to be chosen as a Gatorade Player of the Year in the past two years, joining basketball player Jaiden Delaire '18 and soccer players Lauren Hinton '18 and senior Michael Suski.
Farrell won his second straight New England Prep School Track Association Cross Country championship this year, and his third straight Founders League championship. He also raced to an eighth-place finish at the Foot Locker Northeast Regional Championships, which qualified him for the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships, where he finished 23rd.
Read Gatorade's official press release about Matt and the award, and check out the announcement on the Gatorade Player of the Year website.