Paige Sheppard of Union Catholic has been selected as the New Jersey 2025-26 Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year by Gatorade, who celebrates the nation's best high school athletes for their excellence in sport, academics and community.
This award recognizes Sheppard as New Jersey's best high school girls track and field athlete, and she joins an elite legacy that spans professional athletes and coaches to CEOs, such as Sanya Richards (2001-02, St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Florida), Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (2015-16 & 2016-17, Union Catholic Regional High School, New Jersey) and Jane Hedengren (2024-25, Timpview High School, Utah).
As a junior this past spring, Sheppard produced one of the greatest seasons in NJ and U.S. history as she ran the U.S. times in both the 800 and 1,600!!!
Earlier this month, Sheppard won the 800-meter run at the Brooks PR Invitational in 2:00.65, which is the No. 1 ranked time nationally among prep girls competitors this year and is No. 7 in prep history. Sheppard smashed the NJ record in the 1,600 when she clocked a 4:28.77 at the Holmdel Twilight Series Night of 1600s, which is also ranked No. 1 nationally and is No. 6 on the all-time list.
A two-time New Jersey Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year, Sheppard also won the 800 and 1600 at the Non-Public A state meet in addition to winning gold for the second straight year in the 1,600 at the NJSIAA Meet of Champions. She's now captured 5 M of C titles in her amazing career (2 outdoors, 2 indoors, 1 XC).
Sheppard, who is committed to Stanford University, capped her spring by winning the 800 at the USATF Under-20 Championships last weekend with a time of 2:01.76, earning a berth in the Under-20 World Championships in August.
Sheppard is a founding member of Union Catholic's Care Club, which serves individuals and families affected by natural disasters. She has volunteered locally with Operation Smile and as a youth track coach, in addition to donating her time making holiday cards for cancer patients through the Student Movement Against Cancer network.
"For years, Paige Sheppard's mere raw talent was more than enough to carry her to age-group national stardom in the club space," said Rich Gonzalez, PrepCalTrack editor. "Now that her racing moxie has begun catching up to those weapons, she's begun elevating herself to international prominence." Sheppard has maintained an A average in the classroom.
The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one state winner from each of the 50 states and Washington D.C., in 12 different sports: football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross-country, boys and girls basketball, baseball, softball, boys and girls soccer, and boys and girls track & field. In total, 610 high school athletes are honored each year.
From the pool of state winners, one national winner is selected in each of the 12 sports. 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 winners in each sport.
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 $6.4 million in grants to winners across more than 2,200 organizations.