By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Covington Catholic distance runner Will Sheets has been named Gatorade Player of the Year in Kentucky boys track a few months after he won the same award in boys cross country for the second time in his high school career.
This is the 40th year that Gatorade has sponsored the nationwide program that honors male and female student-athletes in several sports for their accomplishments in competition, academics and community service.
Sheets ended his senior season in track as the leading scorer on the CovCath team that placed first in the Class 2A state championship meet. He won the 800-meter run and placed second in the 1600 and 3200 runs to score a team-high 26 points for the Colonels in that meet.
According to the press release from Gatorade, Sheets also competed in out-of-state track meets during the spring that included events with different distances than ones in Kentucky.
He finished second in the 3000-meter run at the Penn Relays Carnival in a time of 8:11.60 that ranked No. 8 nationally among boys high school runners. At the HOKA Festival of Miles, he clocked a 4:03.35 in the mile that was No. 18 nationally.
A University of Virginia recruit, Sheets maintained a 4.65 weighted GPA in the classroom and served as CovCath’s student body president. He volunteered locally with Family Promise of Northern Kentucky and with the DCCH Center for Children and Families. He also donated his time to youth toy drives and on behalf of multiple community service initiatives through his church.
A selection committee that includes coaches, scouts, media members and others determines the Gatorade Player of the Year in each sport. Each winner also receives a grant to donate to a social impact program.
Earlier this year, Sheets donated the $1,000 grant he received for being named Gatorade Player of the Year in boys cross country to the Matthew Mangine Jr. “One Shot” Foundation that provides medical emergency equipment, including Automated External Defibrillators, to local schools and athletic organizations.
During his senior season in cross country last fall, Sheets posted the fastest 5K time in the state (14:44.57) during the regular season and placed second in the Class 2A state meet to lead CovCath to the team title.
In November, he qualified for Nike NXN national cross country championship meet by placing fourth in the Southeast Region meet that included a field of 273 boys from multiple states. Sheets crossed the finish line in 14:44.97 in that race.
The first time Sheets received the Gatorade Player of the Year award in boys cross county was during the 2022-23 school year when he became the first CovCath student to win an individual state title in that sport as a sophomore.