Mustang’s Gabe Simonsen earns Gatorade Player of the Year
MUSTANG, Okla. (BVM) — For the past three seasons, Gabe Simonsen has been the best cross country runner in Oklahoma.
“Gabe had another strong season and was dominant in the championship season,” Westmoore High School cross country head coach Scott Downard said in a Gatorade press release. “He’s definitely been the athlete to beat on the Oklahoma cross country scene.”
The 5-foot-6, 125-pound senior captured the Class 6A cross country state title with a winning time of 15 minutes and 31.79 seconds, which was nearly 18 seconds faster than his closest competitor. His dominant performance helped the Mustangs finish in first place, and it was also his third straight Class 6A state title.
🐴👟🔥STATE CHAMPIONS!!!
3X STATE CHAMPION GABE SIMONSEN #GoBroncos #Horsepower @BroncoRunnersXC @MustangSchools @MHS_Broncos @MHStheStable pic.twitter.com/1V6KSFRWkT— MHS Bronco Sports (@MHSBroncoSports) November 4, 2020
#BroncoPride #PPF pic.twitter.com/G2YpiM4VNV
— Mustang Public Schools (@MustangSchools) January 22, 2021
“He’s got a completely different gear,” Mustang head coach Mike McGarry said. “He’s [also] very approachable [and] very funny, he always has some crazy little thing he says at practice to loosen everything up. … But he’s extremely driven to push himself even when there’s no one around.”
Along with his dominating performance at the state meet, Simonsen also set a new state record on April 21 at the Edmond Memorial track meet. He finished the two-mile race in eight minutes and 56.07 seconds. Simonsen broke the previous record by nearly four seconds. (8:59.97).
To go along with his performance as a runner, Simonsen also does great work off the field. He has donated his time to volunteering at a local orphanage and continues to help the community through his church youth group. He also continues to do excellent work in the classroom. He has a GPA of 4.11.
“He tutors kids through school,” McGarry said. “They’ll get into groups, not so much this year, but last year they’d pull chairs up around his desk and he’d do a little bit of tutoring in some of his classes.”
Now, with the cross country season winding down, Simonsen will be aiming to use his running skills after high school. He has signed a letter of intent to attend Oklahoma State University. There he’ll compete on one of the country’s greatest courses for the sport and McGarry believes he could reach a whole new level at OSU.
“He’s going to do well,” McGarry said. “He’s excited about going there, the coach is excited about him coming and he’s excited about trying to drop a lot of time off his personal best. I think he’ll do well up there.”
