Mercer Island High School (MIHS) rising senior Owen Powell has notched the 2023-24 Gatorade Washington Boys Track & Field Player of the Year honor. He is the first MIHS boys track and field athlete to receive this accolade.

The award celebrates the nation’s top high school athletes for excellence on the field, in the classroom and in the community. Powell, who sports a 3.68 grade-point average, volunteers as a youth track coach when he’s not tackling track and cross country courses locally and beyond.

Powell set a state record in the 800-meter run at the Portland Track Festival on June 8 with a time of 1:48.60 that ranks him No. 4 nationally among prep competitors this spring. On April 20, Powell broke a 21-year-old national high school record in the 1,000-meter race at the Oregon Relays with a winning time of 2:23.22. On the prep scene over the last two years, Powell has won a pair of 3A state championships in the 1,600-meter run, a 3A state cross country title and a 3A state 800-meter run crown.