Coco wins Gatorade award for x-country

The Daily Inter Lake

Whitefish's Drew Coco was named the 2008-09 Gatorade Montana Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year last week.

The 5-foot-10 senior wrapped up an unbeaten racing season last fall that ended with a Class A cross country state championship in Missoula.

The two-time All-State distance runner is the first from Whitefish High School to win the Gatorade award for cross country, which recognizes outstanding athletic excellence along with high standards of academic achievement and character in each of the 50 states.

Coco held a 3.16 cumulative grade-point-average in high school and participates in numerous extra-curricular activities in the community, including the Boys Scouts of America, where he is an Eagle Scout.

He recently announced his plans to attend the United States Naval Academy Prep School in Newport, R. I., next fall.