BY KRISTEN GOWDY | usparatf
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO – Forty high school athletes have been named to the prestigious 2023 U.S. Paralympics Track & Field High School All-American list, the organization announced today. The list recognizes the top high school track and field athletes who have a Paralympic-eligible impairment based on their performances in the 2023 season. This is the 13th group of athletes to have been awarded the honor.
Headlining the 2023 roster are Annie Carey (Boise, Idaho), Ezra Frech (Los Angeles, California) and Arelle Middleton (Rancho Cucamonga, California), who were named U.S. Paralympics Track & Field High School Athletes of the Year. The selection criteria looked at the top athlete performances in each event in 2023 as compared against the “A” standard for the U.S. Paralympics Track & Field National Team. Athletes who competed in high school track and field during the 2022-2023 school year were eligible.
“This was an unprecedented year in terms of success for our younger athletes,” Sherrice Fox, Director, U.S. Paralympics Track & Field, said. “On this list, we have athletes who medaled at world championships and the Parapan American Games, as well as athletes who are brand new to us, which is so exciting and speaks to the future of our sport as we build toward Paris 2024 next year and beyond.”
Earning his third consecutive athlete of the year honors is Frech, whose stellar showing in both track and field events this year cemented the top spot on both the men’s track and men’s field ranking lists. Frech has twice previously been named Male Field Athlete of the Year, and it’s the senior’s first career Male Track Athlete of the Year nod.
Frech’s world record in the men’s high jump T63 at the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships set the tone for a momentous season for the 18-year-old and earned him the title of Male Field Athlete of the Year. It was the 2020 Paralympian’s first career world championship title, and he followed that with a strong 100-meter mark that put him at the top of the high school rankings on the track side.
Carey, meanwhile, nabbed three bronze medals at the 2023 Parapan American Games in Santiago, Chile, as part of her campaign for Female Track Athlete of the Year. A freshman this season at Mount St. Mary’s University, Carey’s qualifying marks – in the 100-meter, 200-meter and long jump – were earned while she was in high school during the 2022-2023 season. It is Carey’s second consecutive high school athlete of the year honors.
A newcomer to Para track and field, Middleton’s top mark of 12.02 meters in the women’s shot put at her high school state championships propelled the 15-year-old to her first career Female Field Athlete of the Year award. The mark would have won her the world championship gold medal in 2023.
The full list of this year’s High School All-Americans, in alphabetical order with qualifying events, can be found below.
For media requests and inquiries, please contact Kristen Gowdy at [email protected].
2023 U.S. Paralympics Track & Field High School All-Americans
Michael Allen (100-meter)
Andy Botkin (100-meter, 400-meter)
Aidan Cairns (400-meter)
Micah Campbell (100-meter, 400-meter)
Annie Carey (100-meter, 200-meter, Long Jump)
Chloe Chavez (100-meter, 200-meter, Long Jump, Shot Put)
Joshua Fields (100-meter, 400-meter, Long Jump)
Lauren Fields (100-meter, 800-meter)
Jeffrey Files (100-meter, 400-meter)
Skyler Fisher (800-meter)
Elizabeth Floch (100-meter, 400-meter, 800-meter)
Carson Fox (100-meter)
Ezra Frech (100-meter, Long Jump, High Jump)
Alaina Gott (100-meter)
Tyler Gunnarson (100-meter, 400-meter, 800-meter, 1500-meter, 5000-meter)
Madison Hahs (100-meter, 200-meter, 400-meter, Long Jump, Shot Put)
Samuel Haynes (100-meter, 400-meter)
Samantha Heyison (Shot Put, Discus)
Isabelle Hogness (100-meter, 400-meter)
Jian Jackson (100-meter, 400-meter)
Danielle Kanas (Shot Put)
Tayvion Lilly (100-meter, 200-meter)
Emily Lopez (200-meter, 400-meter, Long Jump)
Delmace Mayo (100-meter, 400-meter, 800-meter, 1500-meter)
Tucker McCrady (100-meter, 200-meter, 400-meter)
Elicia Meairs (100-meter, 800-meter, Javelin)
Arelle Middleton (Shot Put, Discus)
Grant Pierce (100-meter, 400-meter, 800-meter, 1500-meter)
Gianni Quintero (100-meter, 400-meter)
Christian Ramirez (100-meter)
David Ramos (100-meter, 400-meter)
Matthew Reid (100-meter, 400-meter)
Janie Richardson (100-meter, 200-meter, 400-meter, Long Jump, Shot Put)
Jillian Romanyk (Shot Put)
Lily Rosenthal (100-meter, Long Jump)
Najee Smothers (100-meter)
Austin Spalla (100-meter, 200-meter)
Kira Stevens (100-meter, 200-meter)
Kaidhyn Stockdale (Discus)
Carlo Uglow (100-meter)
Elizabeth Wade (1500-meter)
Sam Winter (100-meter, 400-meter, Long Jump)