Lander Throwing Star Anderson Wins Second Straight Gatorade Wyoming Award

For the second consecutive year, Lander Valley High School standout thrower Adelyn Anderson has been named the Gatorade Wyoming Girls Track and Field Player of the Year. This award is for the 2025-26 school year. In its 41st year of honoring the nation’s most elite high school athletes, Gatorade announced Anderson as the winner of its honor on Thursday.

LANDER'S ADELYN ANDERSON EARNS GATORADE GIRLS' TRACK AWARD 2026

The 5-10 senior was a Class 3A state champion in the shot put and helped the Tigers win the team title at the outdoor state track championships last month. Her toss of 47-00.50 was the best in Wyoming. Anderson was also the indoor track state champ in the shot put. She broke the state record on March 7, 2026, in Gillette, with a toss of 48-11.25. Adelyn recently took seventh in the discus event at the USATF Under-20 Championships, launching the apparatus 153 feet, 9 inches. Anderson also managed Top 15 finishes in both the discus and the shot at the Nike Outdoor Nationals track meet. A four-time All-State selection and the state’s returning Gatorade Player of the Year in track and field, her personal-best efforts of 168-11 in the discus and 50-8.5 in the shot, respectively, ranked No. 6 and No. 7 nationally among prep girls’ competitors in 2026. She concluded her prep career as the state’s all-class record-holder in the shot put.

Rich Gonzalez, editor of PrepCalTrack.com, pointed to Anderson’s notable efforts throughout the season.

“Adelyn Anderson tacked on huge distances to her PRs in the discus and shot put to finish in the Top 10 among prep girls’ competitors in both events this spring. Her seventh-place finish at the USATF Under-20 Championships is impressive, but flirting with 169 in the discus and going north of 50-8 in the shot is pretty epic.”

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Adelyn contributed to her community and was a terrific student

Anderson has maintained a weighted GPA of 4.39 in the classroom. She has signed a written letter of athletic aid to compete on scholarship at the University of Wisconsin this fall. She has volunteered locally as part of multiple fundraisers to benefit her community and has donated her time working in the concessions stand at school athletic events in addition to coaching youth athletes. She has also served her church community as part of its confirmation and Sunday school programs. She spends much of her free time working a part-time job at a rental company in her area.

Anderson joins recent Gatorade Wyoming Girls Track and Field Players of the Year Addie Pendergast (2023-24 and 2022-23) from Sheridan High School, Kate Brigham (2021-22) of Jackson Hole High School, and Lauryn Love (2020-21) from Campbell County High School, among the state’s list of former award winners.

Gatorade Player of the Year is the top honor in high school sports, celebrating the nation’s best high school athletes for their success on the field, in the classroom, and in the community. The award distinguishes Anderson as Wyoming's best high school girls' track & field athlete. She is a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Girls Track and Field Player of the Year award, to be announced soon.

As part of Gatorade’s commitment to breaking down barriers in sport, every Player of the Year also receives a grant to donate to a social impact partner. To date, the Gatorade Player of the Year program has provided more than $6.4 million in grants to winners across more than 2,200 organizations. Top of Form

Information from a release by The Gatorade Company was used in this story.