Zaya Akins is a rare Gatorade award winner in Missouri.
The Raytown South graduate was named the 2022-23 Gatorade Missouri Girls Track and Field Player of the Year -- repeating an honor she won last year as well.
In fact, she is the first to win the award in back-to-back years in more than a decade: the last female track and field winner to do that was Alishea Usery from McCluer-South Berkeley, who won it in 2007 and then 2008.
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, according to a press release.
She is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Girls Track & Field Player of the Year award to be announced in July.
She won the MSHSAA Class 5 state titles in the 100-, 200- and 400-meter events this past season, concluding her prep career as the fastest competitor in Missouri history in each event, including an NWI mark of 11.36 in the 100 and a 52.83 effort in the 400 in 2023. That comes after moving up to the state's largest classification this spring after dominating in Class 4 last year.
Akins ranked in the top 20 nationally in all three sprints among girls' high school competitors, at the time of her selection. She captured a New Balance indoor national championship in the 400 and finished second in the outdoor 200 at the Great Southwest Classic.
Akins has volunteered locally with Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kansas City, Youth Ministries at Church, Toys for Tots, Student City Youth Group and Harvesters, in addition to creating and handing out care packages to deliver to those in need.
"Zaya Akins added to her legacy as the most well-rounded sprinter in Missouri prep history, supporting her all-time marks in the 100 and 200 by lowering her own 400 standards with a second career sub-53 performance," said Erik Boal, editor at DyeStat.com. "Akins secured her third career national title in the 400 with a victory at the New Balance indoor final in Boston."
Akins has maintained a 3.88 GPA in the classroom. She has signed a National Letter of Intent to compete on scholarship at the University of Kentucky this fall.