Bearden's Joshua Sobota named Gatorade Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year

Bearden High School's Joshua Sobota was named the 2016-17 Gatorade Tennessee Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year on Thursday.

The junior is the first Gatorade Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year to be chosen from Bearden. He is also the third Knoxville-area Athlete of the Year this school year, joining CAK's Rebecca Story (cross country) and Spencer Strider (baseball).

Sobota won the shot put and discus at the Class AAA state meet this past season, leading the Bulldogs to a sixth-place finish as a team.

He continued that success at the New Balance National Outdoor Track and Field Championships by taking bronze in the shot on June 17 with a toss of 65 feet, 11.75 inches, which ranked as nation’s No. 13 performance among prep competitors this spring at the time of his selection. Sobota also finished sixth in the discus at the meet. Both top-six finishes earned him All-American honors.

His personal-best discus throw of 190-3 set a state-meet record and ranked No. 38 in the nation this season. 

Sobota was a finalist for the Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year award at the inaugural News Sentinel Sports Awards.

Kethlin Campbell of Shelbyville Central won the Gatorade Tennessee Girls Track and Field athlete of the Year award.

The Gatorade State Player of the Year award was established in 1985 to recognize the nation’s most outstanding high school student-athletes for their athletic excellence, academic achievement and exemplary character.

As a Gatorade Player of the Year, Sobota will be able to select a national or local youth sports organization to receive a grant as part of the Gatorade Play It Forward program. Every Gatorade Player of the Year state winner receives a $1,000 grant to donate and will have the opportunity to enter for an additional $10,000 spotlight grant by writing a brief essay explaining why their selected organization deserves additional support.