ThunderRidge’s Ben Lee Named Boys Track & Field’s Gatorade Player of the Year for Colorado

CHICAGO — In its 40^th year of honoring the nation’s most elite high school athletes, Gatorade today announced Ben Lee of ThunderRidge High School is the 2024-25 Gatorade Colorado Boys Track & Field Player of the Year.  

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 Lee as Colorado’s best high school track & field athlete, and he joins an impressive group of alumni that spans CEOs, coaches and star athletes such as Alan Webb (2000-01, South Lakes High School, Va.), Kerron Clement (2002-03, Laporte High School, Texas) and Christian Miller (2023-24, Creekside High School, Fla.). 

The 5-foot-8, 135-pound junior middle-distance and distance talent won the Class 5A state championship in the 800- and 1,600-meter events this past season, clocking a personalcbest in each. Lee also took eighth in the mile at the RunningLane Track Championships with a time of 4:04.95 seconds, which ranked No 28 among boys prep competitors this spring. He was unbeaten in the 800 this spring and his top time in that event ranked No. 82 nationally.  

Lee has volunteered locally on behalf of Sleep in Heavenly Peace, helping to assemble and deliver beds for children in need. He has also donated his time to the Backpack Society, distributing bags of nonperishable food items to families experiencing food insecurity. “Competing in one of the tougher states in the distances while at altitude, Ben Lee closed out his season with a flourish,” said Rich Gonzalez, editor of PrepCalTrack.com. “That included an impressive sweep of the 800 and 1600 at state.” 

Lee has maintained a 3.87 weighted GPA in the classroom. He will begin his senior year of high school in the fall.  

The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states across 12 different high school sports – 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. 

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 $5.6 million in grants to winners across more than 2,000 organizations. 

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 Instagram at instagram.com/Gatorade, Facebook at facebook.com/GatoradePOY and X(Twitter) at x.com/Gatorade.