CHICAGO (February 13, 2025) — In its 40th year of honoring the nation’s most elite high school athletes, Gatorade today announced Henry Dilworth of Liberty High School is the 2024-25 Gatorade Arizona Boys Cross Country Player of the Year. Dilworth is the second Gatorade Arizona Boys Cross Country Player of the Year to be chosen from Liberty High School.

Gatorade Player of the Year is the top honor in high school sports, celebrating the nation’s best high school athletes for their success on the field, in the classroom and in the community. The award distinguishes Dilworth as Arizona's best high school boys cross country athlete, and he joins an impressive group of alumni that spans CEOs, coaches and star athletes such as Lukas Verzbicas (2009-10 & 2010-11, Carl Sandburg High School, Illinois), Edward Cheserek (2012-13, St. Benedict's Preparatory School, New Jersey) and Daniel Simmons (2022-23 & 2023-24, American Fork High School, Utah).

The 5-foot-9, 125-pound senior took second in the AIA Division I state meet this past season with a time of 15:30.1, leading the Lions to fifth place as a team. A two-time First Team All-State selection, Dilworth broke the tape at the ASICS/Sundevil Invitational in California with a 3-mile personal-best time of 15:07.00. He also clocked a 5K PR of 14:54.5 at the Desert Twilight, crossing the line sixth as the state’s top performer. He won five of eight starts last fall.

Through his Eagle Scout project, Dilworth has volunteered locally by organizing the Homeless Engagement Lift Partnership (HELP), overseeing more than 50 volunteers who source, create and distribute more than 1,000 snack/assistance bags for the homeless. He has also donated his time to the annual Peoria Pride Festival. “The top Arizona finisher in a pair of major in-season meets, Henry Dilworth smashed course records in two of his five invitational wins to complete an outstanding senior season,” said Rich Gonzalez of PrepCalTrack.

Dilworth has maintained a 4.00 GPA in the classroom. He remains undecided upon a collegiate destination.

The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states across 12 different high school sports – football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field – and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. The selection process is administered by the Gatorade Player of the Year Selection Committee, which leverages experts including coaches, scouts, media and others as sources to help evaluate and determine the state winners in each sport.

Dilworth joins recent Gatorade Arizona Boys Cross Country Players of the Year Ryan Denhof (2023-24, Liberty High School), Brandon Martz (2022-23, Catalina Foothills High School), Terrence Keyes (2021-22, Gilbert High School) and Dayton Carlson (2020-21, Casteel High School), among the state’s list of former award winners.

As part of Gatorade’s commitment to breaking down barriers in sport, every Player of the Year also receives a grant to donate to a social impact partner. To date, the Gatorade Player of the Year program has provided more than $5.6 million in grants to winners across more than 2,000 organizations.

To learn more about the Gatorade Player of the Year program, check out past winners or to nominate student - athletes, visit playeroftheyear.gatorade.com or follow us on social media on Instagram at instagram.com/Gatorade, Facebook at facebook.com/GatoradePOY and X(Twitter) at x.com/Gatorade.