Glacier’s Williams named Gatorade Player of Year
Glacier’s Kenzie Williams (12) celebrates with Madison Becker (18) after Becker’s first-half goal against Flathead during crosstown soccer at Legends Stadium on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
CHICAGO — Add another honor to the extraordinary high school career of Glacier High’s Kenzie Williams: She’s the Montana Gatorade Soccer Player of the Year.
Williams joins her sister Cadie, who was Gatorade player of the year in 2017-18, in landing the award. This comes after she was named the 2020 Western AA Conference player of the year, named first-team All-State for the third year and elected to the 2020 All-Northwest Region team by the Uncited Soccer Coaches.
The announcement came in a release from Gatorade, which is in its 36th year honoring the nation’s top high school athletes.
The release noted that Williams is a member of Glacier High’s Wolfpack Leadership Club, volunteered locally as a peer mentor and as a youth soccer and basketball coach, and quoted Mike Meloy, whose Helena High team lost to Williams’ Wolfpack 1-0 in the AA state championship.
“Kenzie Williams, almost single-handedly, was responsible for saving the win for Glacier,” Meloy said. “She was all over the backline and her clears were always past midfield. We’d gather the ball and take it back to our attacking third and she’d spoil it again. She was a phenomenal leader.”
Williams has maintained a 4.0 GPA in the classroom. She will attend the University of Montana this fall.
She joins recent Gatorade Montana players of the year Halle Labert (2019-20, Skyview High School), Jordan Roe (2018-19, Skyview High School), Alexa Coyle (2016-17, Bozeman High School) and of course her sister among the state’s list of former award winners.
Through Gatorade’s cause marketing platform “Play it Forward,” Williams has the opportunity to award a $1,000 grant to a local or national youth sports organization of their choosing. Williams is also eligible to submit a 30-second video explaining why the organization they chose is deserving of one of twelve $10,000 spotlight grants, which will be announced throughout the year.
To date, Gatorade Player of the Year winners’ grants have totaled more than $2.7 million across 1,117 organizations.
Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Girls Soccer Player of the Year award to be announced this month, Williams joins an elite alumni association of state award-winners in 12 sports, including Alexi Lalas (1987-88, Cranbrook High School, Mich.), Steve Cherundolo (1996-97, Mt. Carmel High School, Calif.), Abby Wambach (1997-98, Our Lady of Mercy School of Young Women, N.Y.), Heather O’Reilly (2001-02 & 2002-03, East Brunswick High School, N.J.), Matt Besler (2004-05, Blue Valley West High School, Kans.), Jack Harrison (2013-14, Berkshire High School, Mass.) and Mallory Pugh (2014-15, Mountain Vista High School, Colo.).