CHICAGO (June 25, 2024) — In its 39th year of honoring the nation’s most elite high school athletes, Gatorade today announced Katie Bohlke of Newington High School is the 2023-24 Gatorade Connecticut Girls Track & Field Player of the Year. Bohlke is the first Gatorade Connecticut Girls Track & Field Player of the Year to be chosen from Newington High School.
The award, which celebrates the nation’s top high school athletes for excellence on the field, in the classroom and in the community, distinguishes Bohlke as Connecticut’s best high school girls track & field athlete. From CEOs and coaches to star athletes, Gatorade Player of the Year winners showcase the power of sport, touting an all-star group of alumni that includes Sanya Richards-Ross (2001-02, St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Fla), Sydney McLaughlin (2016-17, 2015-16 & 2014-15, Union Catholic High School, N.J.) and Angelina Napoleon (2022-23, Allegany-Limestone Central School, N.Y.).
The 5-foot-10 senior distance talent set a meet and state record in the 1600-meter run at the New England Outdoor Championships this past season and her time of 4:46.43 ranked No. 30 nationally among prep competitors this spring. Bohlke also set a state record in the mile at Trials of Miles with a 4:42.69 clocking, which ranked No. 18 nationally. She added a national title in the 2000-meter steeplechase at New Balance Nationals Outdoors earlier this month with a time of 6:25.93, which ranked No. 1 nationally in 2024 and No. 5 in prep girls history.
A former Level 9 gymnast, Bohlke has participated in multiple service-mission trips to West Virginia, where she helped repair homes through the Appalachia Service Project. She has volunteered locally as a peer math tutor and at Unified Sports track meets to benefit physically and intellectually challenged youth athletes. “Each year Katie has steadily improved her speed and strength as her times have gotten better and this spring she’s taken it to a new level,” said Brian Collins, head coach of Glastonbury High School. “She’s learned to race from the front of the pack and within the pack. She has the confidence in her strength and speed to run her race.”
Bohlke has maintained a weighted 4.16 GPA in the classroom. She has signed a national letter of intent to compete on an athletic scholarship at Virginia Tech this fall.
The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that…
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