Double National Champion Named Gatorade Girls Cross Country Runner Of The Year

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Natalie Cook of Flower Mound, Texas didn't win her first big race of the 2021 cross country season, yet by December that was a distant and irrelevant footnote to a tremendous season. 

Cook dominated the competition in November and December, rolling to dual national championship wins at the Garmin RunningLane Cross Country Championships in Huntsville, Ala. on Dec 4 and the Eastbay National Cross Country Championships in San Diego on Dec. 11.

The schedule and opportunity worked out for her to become the first high school girl to win two national championship races. 

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Despite a third-place finish at the Woodbridge Cross Country Classic on Sept. 18, there was no question when the dust settled in December who was the No. 1 runner in the country. 

"The past two years have been rough," Cook said. "I've been dealing with injuries, and I'm really happy that I was able to overcome it and have an amazing season with my team and individually."

The Oklahoma State recruit won the Texas 6A state championship by 56 seconds at Old Settlers Park on Nov. 6, running 16:32.4 and leading her team to the title. 

From there, she only seemed to get better. 

Three weeks later, Cook won the Eastbay South regional at McAlpine Park in North Carolina by 35 seconds. 

Then, she went to the RunningLane Championships in Alabama and ran the second-fastest 5,000 meters by a girl ever in a cross country race with 16:04.0. She won that won by 18 seconds. 

To cap off her season, Cook faced the best field of contenders in the country at Balboa Park in San Diego for the Eastbay Championships and proved, yet again, that she was the class fo the field. Cook was tested over the final 600 meters by New Jersey champion Angelina Perez but reached the finish line first in 17:15 to record a 4.7-second victory. 

Gatorade's award not only recognizes achievement in athletics, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field.

The Gatorade Player of the Year Selection Committee, which leverages experts including coaches, scouts, media and others to evaluate candidates, selected Cook from nearly 300,000 other student-athletes who compete in girls cross country nationwide.