For a list of the other Gatorade State Girls Track & Field Athletes of the Year, click here

THE WINNER: Cortney Dowling

THE BASICS

School: T.F. Riggs (Pierre, S.D.)
Grade: Sophomore
Event: Sprints
Height: 5-foot-4

Athletic achievement: She won three individual state championships this spring and led the Lady Governors to 10th place as a team at the Class AA state meet. Dowling captured the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.15 seconds, the 200-meter dash with a meet-record clocking of 25.56 and broke the statewide record in the 400-meter dash in 55.11. The state’s returning Gatorade Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year, she also won the 100 (12.22 seconds) and the 200 (24.78) at the Howard Wood Dakota Relays.

Academic excellence: Dowling has maintained a 4.0 GPA.

Exemplary character: An accomplished pianist and trumpet player, she has participated in a service-mission trip to Mexico and has volunteered locally on behalf of the Special Olympics, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and as a youth track and field coach.

THE PRAISE

“Cortney Dowling is not just determined, hard-working and competitive, she is also compassionate, humble and encouraging to her teammates and competitors,” said T.F. Riggs head coach Greg Starr. “She is an individual of great character.”

THE FUTURE: Dowling will be a junior this fall.