Jake Perrin, a senior at Flathead High School who broke two all-class state track records this spring, was named the 2015-16 Gatorade Montana Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year.
The 5-foot-8, 145-pound senior distance talent won a pair of individual state championships and led the Braves to a seventh-place finish as a team at the Class AA state meet. Perrin set all-class state records in both the 1600-meter run with a time of 4:12.06 seconds and the 3200-meter run in 9:04.35. A two-time first team all-state selection, he competed at the prestigious Arcadia Invitational in California, where he earned a 17th-place finish out of 82 competitors in the 3200, crossing the line in a season-best 9:02.49.
Perrin is the fifth Gatorade Montana Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year to be chosen from Flathead High School, including his older brother, Zach.
Perrin has maintained a 3.10 GPA in the classroom. A student council representative, he is a devoted parishioner in his church community and has volunteered locally at a homeless shelter.
“For the last two years, Jake Perrin has set a standard I hope our future distant runners will follow,” said Flathead High head coach Dan Hodge. “He never misses a workout and he always approaches them in a positive manner. He runs is all types of weather conditions and always wants to be up front in the pack, which is the sign of a true leader.”
Perrin has signed a National Letter of Intent to compete on an athletic scholarship at Gonzaga University this fall.
Perrin joins recent Gatorade Montana Boys Track & Field Athletes of the Year Dalton Daum (2014-15 & (2013-14, Butte High School), Matt Tokarz (2012-13, Flathead High School), Zach Perrin (2011-12, Flathead High School), Scotty Koehler-Owens (2010–11 & 2009-10, Billings Senior High School), Chris Wilson (2008–09, C.M. Russell High School), Josh Pelczar (2007-08, Billings West High School), and Seth Grossman (2006-07, Flathead High School) among the state’s list of former award winners.