For the third year in a row, the top runner in girls' cross country hails from the St. Louis area.
The 2022-23 Gatorade Girls Cross Country Player of the Year is Grace Tyson from Lafayette (Wildwood) - the Class 5 champion this year. She was a repeat winner of the race and marked a stellar return from injury.
She ran an 18:10.5 won the MSHSAA Class 5 XC state title and helped the Lancers claim the state championship. She picked up wins at the Forest Park Invitational, Memphis Twilight Classic and Fort Zumwalt North Invitational. She has signed to run at Indiana University next year.
Tyson is a member of the student council, Key Club, Fall Sports Leadership Program, and National Honor Society. She also worked at the STL Food Bank, participated in the Adopt-A-Family as her church, wrapped Christmas presents as part of Lafayette's High School's STUCO program and was a Special Olympics leader.
She has a 4.22 weight grade point average.
Tyson follows last year's winner Julia Ray from MICDS in 2021-22 and Ally Kruger from Wentzville Liberty in 2020-21.
Gatorade honors a Player of the Year from each state and one from the District of Columbia. Every winner receives a grant to give to one of Gatorade's social impact partners. Tyson is now a finalist for the Gatorade National Girls Cross Country Player of the Year Award.