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Nick Falk has enjoyed an outstanding final season in a Winnetka New Trier High School uniform, racking up accolades left and right. He has one more to add to his trophy case.
The 5-foot-11, 140-pound senior raced to 19th at the national Eastbay Cross Country Championships this past season with a time of 15:39.9. Falk took second at the Class 3A state championships and finished fourth at the Eastbay Midwest Regional Championships. He broke the tape at the Peoria Invitational, the Regional championships, and the Central Suburban League championships.
Falk has volunteered locally on behalf of the Run BeCAUSE charity race. "Coming out of 18 months of COVID protocols, in addition to a setback from a significant breathing issue, Nick displayed patience and perseverance to claw himself back into shape over the late summer and fall," said New Trier coach Matt Sloan. "I knew, without question, that during the business end of the season, Nick would be ready to meet the challenge presented by the other top runners in the state."
Falk has maintained a weighted 4.40 GPA in the classroom. He has signed a National Letter of Intent to run on scholarship at Duke University this fall.
The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport.
The selection process is administered by the Gatorade Player of the Year Selection Committee, which leverages experts including coaches, scouts, media, and others as sources to help evaluate and determine the state winners in each sport.
Falk joins recent Gatorade Illinois Boys Cross Country Players of the Year Drew Rogers (2020-21, Herscher High School), Josh Methner (2019-20 & 2018-19, John Hersey High School), and Danny Kilrea (2017-18, Lyons Township High School), among the state's list of former award winners.
