Makeriah Harris of Scotlandville named 2022-23 Gatorade Louisiana Girls Track & Field Player of the Year

CHICAGO (June 28, 2023) — In its 38th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, Gatorade today announced Makeriah Harris of Scotlandville High School is the 2022-23 Gatorade Louisiana Girls Track & Field Player of the Year. Harris is the first Gatorade Louisiana Girls Track & Field Player of the Year to be chosen from Scotlandville High School.

The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Harris as Louisiana’s best high school girls track & field athlete. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Girls Track & Field Player of the Year award to be announced in July, Harris joins an elite alumni association of state award-winners in 12 sports, including Jasmine Moore (2018-19, Lake Ridge High School, Texas), Sydney McLaughlin (2016-17, 2015-16 & 2014-15, Union Catholic High School, N.J.), and Lolo Jones (1997-98, Roosevelt High School, Iowa).

The 5-foot-8 junior won Class 5A state titles in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles, also contributing to a winning 4×200 relay quartet and helping the Hornets to a share of the team championship. Harris broke the 100 hurdles state record when she broke the state record in a wind-legal 13.18 seconds at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays; that time matched for No. 2 clocking nationally among girls prep competitors in 2023. Harris now owns the Louisiana prep record in the 100, 300 and 400 hurdles. She also earned All-America honors with a fifth-place finish in the 100 hurdles at New Balance Nationals with a time that was 0.007 seconds away from third place.

Harris is classified as a Battalion Commander in the U.S. Army Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps and has been recognized as a Superior Cadet. In this capacity, she has served as a Drill Team Commander and has participated in the Honor Guard, along with the Saber Team and Color Guard Teams. Harris is the Student Government Association Vice President at her school and has volunteered locally with the Distinguished Divine Ladies Social and Civic Club. She is also a member of the Warrior of Worship Spiritual Dancers and Youth Choir at Mt. Gideon Baptist Church. “Makeriah Harris has made a big impact nationally since her freshman year and she reached another level this season in the 100-meter hurdles to support her past elite efforts in the 300 and 400 hurdles,” said Erik Boal, editor at DyeStat.com. “No junior in U.S. prep history has showcased the impressive range that Harris has demonstrated across the indoor 60 hurdles along with the 100, 300 and 400 outdoors.”

Harris has maintained a 4.48 weighted GPA in the classroom. She will begin her senior year of high school 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.

Harris joins recent Gatorade Louisiana Girls Track & Field Players of the Year Bryanna Craig (2021-22, Ruston High School), Raven Nunnery (2020-21, John Curtis Christian School), Heather Abadie (2019-20, St. Michael The Archangel High School), and Logan Lewis (2018-19, Baton Rouge Magnet High School), among the state’s list of former award winners.

Being a Gatorade Player of the Year means paying it forward for the next generation. Through Gatorade’s Play it Forward initiative, every Player of the Year receives a grant to give to one of Gatorade’s social impact partners, supporting Gatorade’s ambition to fuel the future of sport. To date, Gatorade Player of the Year winners’ grants have totaled more than $3.5 million across more than 1,300 organizations.

For nearly 40 years, Gatorade has honored high school athletes at the top of their game as teammates, supporting their communities and achieving academic success. From CEOs and coaches to star athletes and community leaders, Gatorade Player of the Year winners showcase the power of sport.

To learn more about the Gatorade Player of the Year program, check out past winners or to nominate student-athletes, visit playeroftheyear.gatorade.com or follow us on social media on Facebook at facebook.com/GatoradePOY, Instagram at instagram.com/Gatorade and Twitter at twitter.com/Gatorade.