James Island sophomore Hannah Vroon was named 2021-22 Gatorade South Carolina Girls Cross Country Player of the Year Monday morning. Vroon is the first Gatorade South Carolina Girls Cross Country Player of the Year to be chosen from James Island Charter High School.
Vroon has maintained a 3.40 GPA in the classroom. She will begin her junior year of high school this fall.
Vroon won the Class AAAA individual state championship this past season with a time of 18:15.3, leading the Trojans to the state title as a team. Vroon also won the Providence Invitational, the Bob Jenkins Classic, the Region 7 Championship, the Class 4A State Qualifier and the CiCi's Sandhills Invitational. She finished 28th at the Eastbay South Regional Championships (formerly Foot Locker South).
"Hannah understood that going into the state championship, her race time was not as important as our team winning the team title," said James Island Charter High School coach Dave Lee. "She needed to run strategically to help secure the victory for our team. Fortunately, her race was so strong that she not only helped secure the team championship, but she was also the fastest girl in all classifications."
Also a talented dancer, Vroon volunteers on behalf of St. Michael's Church.
Vroon is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Girls Cross Country Player of the Year award to be announced in February.
Vroon joins recent Gatorade South Carolina Girls Cross Country Players of the Year Katie Pou (2020-21, Nation Ford High School), and Ava Dobson (2019-20, 2018-19, & 2017-18, St. Joseph's Catholic High School), among the state's list of former award winners.