Wyoming Star Enjoyed 'Pretty Normal' Season Full Of Highlights, Including XC Town USA Meet Of Champions Victory

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Sydney Thorvaldson of Rawlins, Wyo. walked in to a "huge surprise" Wednesday morning when she was presented the Gatorade Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year for 2020-21. 

In a sign of the times, Thorvaldson was told she had a Zoom interview with a national magazine and then it turned out to be a surprise presentation made by her mother, Wendy. Her teammates and friends were on hand to help her celebrate at the school gymnasium. 

The Arkansas recruit joins a prestigious list of winners that includes current North Carolina State freshman Katelyn Tuohy, who won the the 2017, 2018 and 2019 awards. 

"It means so much," she said. "I've been working toward it since my freshman year."

In the midst of the pandemic last fall, Thorvaldson benefitted from having safe opportunities to race and she made the most of her chances. 

Among her early season wins, she ran 16:19.0 to win the Heritage Distance Classic with the fastest prep girls 5-kilometer race ever run in Colorado.

She crushed her own Wyoming state meet course record – running faster than all but two boys in the Class 3A final (16:59.6) – to win her fourth consecutive championship. 

The top returner from the 2019 Nike Cross Natioanals, where she was third, then went in pursuit of national-caliber competition. She flew to Indiana and broke the high school course record at the famed LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course at the XC Town USA Meet of Champions in Terre Haute. 

It was there, on a live webcast on Nov. 15, where the running world got their best view of Thorvaldson in flight – pushing through the wind to reach the finish line in 16:38.3. That was 11 seconds faster than anyone has run on a course that annually hosts the Indiana state meet and the Nike Cross Midwest regional. 

Then, on Dec. 5, Thorvaldson traveled to Texas and won another big race, the H.S. Cross Country National Invitational in Lubbock, in 16:23.9. 

"I can't complain a ton," Thorvaldson said. "Some people, I know, just finished cross country last week, which sounds crazy. But I had a pretty normal season and I wanted to prove myself as best as I could."

In January, Thorvaldson moved up the all-time list in the indoor 2-mile by winning the Virginia Showcase title in 9:47.95. 

Thorvaldson raced into the middle of February indoors, but suffered an injury that prevented her from competing at the Wyoming state indoor championships. 

She is recovering and said she remains hopeful that she will be able to race again on the track before she leaves high school. 

"We'll see how it goes," she said. "l'm trying to see the positive in it and just enjoy (the rest) of my senior year."

Thorvaldson is also active outside of running. She has a 4.0 grade-point average in the classroom and is a member of the Rawlins High student council and National Honor Society. She has volunteered locally on behalf of community beautification projects and has donated her time as a teacher’s aide at her church.

Gatorade determines its award winners by examining an athlete's athletic accomplishments as well as factors such as academic achievement and exemplary character.

Gatorade is expected to name a recpient for the boys cross country award sometime soon.