CHICAGO (June 29, 2022) - In its 37th year of honoring the nation's best high school athletes, Gatorade today
announced Michael Pinckney of High School For Construction Trades, Engineering And Architecture is the
2021-22 Gatorade New York Boys Track & Field Player of the Year. Pinckney is the first Gatorade New York Boys
Track & Field Player of the Year to be chosen from High School For Construction Trades, Engineering And
Architecture.
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 Pinckney as New York's
best high school boys track & field athlete. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Boys Track & Field
Player of the Year award to be announced in July, Pinckney joins an elite alumni association of state award winners in 12 sports, including Lolo Jones (1997-98, Roosevelt High School, Iowa), Allyson Felix (2002-03, Los
Angeles Baptist High School, Calif.), Robert Griffin III (2006-07, Copperas Cove High School, Texas), Grant Fisher
(2014-15 & 2013-14, Grand Blanc High School, Mich.) and Candace Hill (2014-15, Rockdale County High School,
Ga.).
The 6-foot-5, 260-pound senior won a national championship at the New Balance Nationals Outdoor this past
season, hurling the discus 201 feet, six inches, which ranked as the nation's No. 7 performance among prep
competitors in 2022 as well as No. 2 in New York prep history. Pinckney also took third at the New Balance meet in
the hammer throw. He hurled the shot put 59-7 to capture the New York Federation championship, also placing
second in the discus. He won both events at the Division 1 state meet.
Pinckney has volunteered more than 60 hours with a local physical therapy facility. "Michael Pinckney is a once-in-a-lifetime athlete for me," said CTEA coach Angel Texidor. "His passion and desire to win are only overshadowed by
his dedication to training, technical IQ, humility and love for the sport. He's made me a better coach."
Pinckney has maintained an A average in the classroom. He has signed a National Letter of Intent to compete on
scholarship at UCLA 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.
Pinckney joins recent Gatorade New York Boys Track & Field Players of the Year Emanuel Joseph (2020-21, North
Rockland High School), Brandon Smith (2019-20, South Shore High School), Kenneth Wei (2018-19, Mount Sinai
High School), and Jeremiah Willis (2017-18, Cicero-North Syracuse High School), among the state's list of former
award winners.
Gatorade has a long-standing history of serving athlete communities and understands how sports instill valuable
lifelong skills on and off the field. Through Gatorade's "Play it Forward" platform, Pinckney has the opportunity to
award a $1,000 grant to a local or national organization of their choosing that helps young athletes realize the
benefits of playing sports. Pinckney is also eligible to submit a short video explaining why the organization they
chose is deserving of one of twelve $10,000 spotlight grants, which will be announced throughout the year. To date,
Gatorade Player of the Year winners' grants have totaled more than $3.5 million across more than 1,300
organizations.
Since the program's inception in 1985, Gatorade Player of the Year award recipients have won hundreds of
professional and college championships, and many have also turned into pillars in their communities, becoming
coaches, business owners and educators.
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.
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