Sheridan's Tanner Selected the Gatorade Boys Track and Field POY

Sheridan thrower Texas Tanner was announced as the 2021-22 Gatorade Wyoming Boys Track and Field Player of the Year on Wednesday.

In its 37th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, Tanner is the second straight thrower to receive this honor. He is the first Gatorade Wyoming Boys Track and Field Player of the Year from Sheridan High School.

Tanner won the discus with a toss of 194-02 and was second in the shot put (61-10) in Class 4A at the Wyoming State Track Championships last month. He helped the Sheridan Broncs win the team championship for a second straight year. Tanner also won an indoor state title in the shot put with a toss of 58-10 at the state indoor track championships in March of 2022. That helped the Broncs win the team crown for the fourth consecutive year.

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During the outdoor season, Tanner’s top discus mark of 199-09 at the Queen City Classic ranked No. 10 nationally among prep competitors in 2022 at the time of his selection. His personal best in the shot of 61-10 was No. 46 in the country this spring. Tanner was also an all-state defensive end and played running back for the Sheridan football team, that won a state championship last fall.

Tanner was one of the five finalists for the prestigious Milward Simpson Award in 2022.

Sheridan head coach Taylor Kelting praised Tanner’s ability as a thrower.

“The moment Texas stepped into our program he has been a game-changer. He loves the throwing events and does everything he can to help his teammates not only learn the events but excel [at them].”

The 6-2, 230-pound senior had a weighted 4.07 GPA in the classroom. He has interned at a dentist’s office and wants to pursue orthopedic medicine as a career. Tanner also has volunteered locally as a camp counselor, and he has donated his time to multiple community service initiatives through his church youth group. Tanner is heading to the United States Air Force Academy, where he will compete in track and field beginning this fall.

The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Tanner as Wyoming’s best high school boys track & field athlete. He is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Boys Track and Field Player of the Year award to be announced later this summer.

Tanner joins recent Gatorade Wyoming Boys Track and Field Players of the Year Joseph Turner (2020-21) of Lyman High School, Peter Visser (2019-20) and Wyatt Moore (2018-19) from Star Valley High School, and Brodie Roden (2017-18) of Riverton High School, among the state’s list of former award winners.

Through Gatorade’s cause marketing platform “Play it Forward,” Tanner has the opportunity to award a $1,000 grant to a local or national organization of his choosing that helps young athletes realize the benefits of playing sports. Tanner is also eligible to submit a short video explaining why the organization he chose is deserving of one of twelve $10,000 spotlight grants, which will be announced throughout the year. To date, Gatorade Player of the Year winners’ grants has totaled more than $3.5 million across more than 1,300 organizations.

Information in a press release from The Gatorade Company was used in this story.