The Fastpitch Chronicle

CHICAGO(June 6, 2013) — In its 28th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with USA TODAY High School Sports, today announced Nicole Newman of La Follette High School as its 2012-13 Gatorade Wisconsin Softball Player of the Year. Newman is the first Gatorade Wisconsin Softball Player of the Year to be chosen from La Follette 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 Newman as Wisconsin’s best high school softball player. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year award announced in June, Newman joins an elite alumni association of past state award-winners in 12 sports, including Alicia Hollowell (2000-01, Fairfield HS, Calif.), Derek Jeter (1991-92, Kalamazoo HS, Mich.), Candace Parker (2001-02, Naperville Central HS, Ill.), Abby Wambach (1997-98, Our Lady of Mercy, N.Y.), Mark Sanchez (2004-05, Mission Viejo HS, Calif.), Angela Tincher (2002-03, James River HS, Va.) and Kenzie Fowler (2006-07, Canyon del Oro HS, Ariz.).

The 6-foot-1 junior right-handed pitcher posted a 15-4 record with a 0.44 ERA and 311 strikeouts against only 22 walks in 143.2 innings-pitched this past season, leading the Lancers (17-5) to the Division 1 regional finals. A returning First Team All-State selection as named by the Wisconsin Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association, Newman batted .567 with six home runs and 28 RBI. In two Division 1 postseason games, Newman recorded a 0.00 ERA and 35 strikeouts in 14 innings-pitched.

Also a basketball and volleyball standout, Newman has maintained a 3.83 GPA in the classroom. A member of the National Honor Society as well as her school’s student-athlete advisory council, she has volunteered locally as part of a peer-mentoring program, an anti-drug campaign and La Follette’s Frozen Five 5K Run/Walk, which raised $5,000 for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

“Nicole Newman is an amazing pitcher and hitter,” said Dan Bayreuther, head coach of rival Janesville Craig High. “In my 23 years of coaching, I have not seen any better player. She can win games by herself. I keep saying to myself, ‘Only one more year.’ Hopefully then, I can just watch her on TV.”

Newman will begin her senior year of high school this fall.

TheGatorade 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 high school sports leadership team in partnership with USA TODAY High School Sports, 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.

Newman joins recent Gatorade Wisconsin Softball Players of the Year Kristen Wood (2011-12, Wilmot Union High School), Lauren Danner (2010-11, Kaukauna High School), McKinzie Freimuth (2009-10, Kaukauna), Claudia Harke (2008-09, Kimberly), Alyssa Roberts (2007-08, Bradford), and Stephanie Schmikla (2006 – 07, McFarland) among the state’s list of former award winners.

To keep up to date on the latest happenings, become a fan of Gatorade Player of the Year on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. For more on the Gatorade Player of the Year program, including nomination information, a complete list of past winners and the announcement of the Gatorade National Player of the Year, visitwww.gatorade.com/poy.