Hamilton High School senior Marcus Paulson was named the 2009-10 Gatorade Wisconsin Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year. Paulson is the first recipient of the award to be chosen from Hamilton High School.
The award recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the racecourse. It distinguishes Paulson as Wisconsin’s best high school boys cross country runner. He is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year award to be announced this year.
Paulson joins an elite alumni association of past state award winners in 12 sports. He raced to an individual Division I state title this past season, breaking the tape with a time of 15:51.0 for the Chargers. The 2009 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Runner of the Year and a two-time Greater Metro Conference Player of the Year, Paulson claimed second place and was the fastest Wisconsin runner at the Nike Cross Nationals Heartland Regional championships, crossing the line in 15:37. He also qualified for the NXN Finals, where he took 33rd place in 15:47.30.
Paulson has maintained a 3.38 GPA in the classroom. An active member of his church community, the National Honor Society and the German National Honor Society, he has volunteered working with Alzheimer’s patients and as local youth basketball coach and referee.
“Paulson is one of the most dedicated athletes I’ve ever been around,” said Hamilton High Head Coach Andy Bosley. “Everything he has accomplished has come through hard work, attention to detail and good planning.”
The Gatorade Player of the Year program, in its 25th year, 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 ESPN RISE and the Gatorade high school sports leadership team, which work with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.