Glacier High School senior Simon Hill, the 2019 Class AA state champion, was named the 2019-20 Gatorade Montana Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year on Feb. 10.
The Gatorade award is the most prestigious statewide honor and given to the top runner, regardless of classification, every season. Hill is just the second Wolfpack runner to take home the award, joining his older sister, Annie, who did so in 2015-16.
Simon Hill out-kicked Missoula Hellgate’s Ian Curtis to twin the 2019 Class AA title, covering the 5K course at Eagle Falls Golf Club in Great Falls in 15:50.7. Hill finished second at the state meet in 2018, trailing only Flathead High School’s Ben Perrin, who in turn won the 2018-19 Gatorade Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year award.
Hill will compete for the Wolfpack track and field team this spring before enrolling at the University of Montana in the fall and joining the Grizzlies distance running program. According to a press release announcing his Gatorade win, Hill has a 4.0 grade-point average and was a state champion in speech and debate in 2018.
Gatorade’s Play it Forward program allows Hill to award a $1,000 grant to a local or national youth sports organization of his choosing and he is eligible to apply for one of a dozen $10,000 grants. Hill is also now a finalist for the Gatorade National Cross Country Runner of the Year award, which will be announced later this month.