Coronado’s Laurent earns Gatorade state honor

Coronado graduate Michaelanne Laurent has been named the Gatorade Nevada Girls Track Athlete of the Year.

Laurent, who won the Class 4A state title in the 1,600 and 3,200 last month, is now a finalist for Gatorade’s national athlete of the year award, which will be announced later this month.

“Her dedication to the sport and to just making herself the best runner she can be really stands out,” said Coronado girls coach Nic Bolken. “She put in a lot of time, not just in practice, but on her own, running on off days to improve.”

Laurent won the 1,600 in 5 minutes, 6.01 seconds, more than three seconds better than her nearest competition, at the state meet. She had a time of 11:19.32 to win the 3,200 by more than eight seconds and took third in the 800.

Laurent earned 26 of her team’s 41½ points at the state meet, where the Cougars finished third.

“She’s a real team player,” Bolken said. “A lot of times when somebody is that good, they’re very competitive and they don’t want to help other people. Michaelanne was all about helping everybody get better. She took the time to help the younger runners improve.”

Laurent, who maintained a 3.95 grade-point average and finished third in the state cross country meet last fall, has signed a National Letter of Intent to run at Brigham Young next season.