Dan Watcke runs down the state's best 4x800s at the state championship in May
In its 38th year of honoring the nation's best high school athletes, Gatorade today announced Dan Watcke of Hinsdale Central High School is the 2022-23 Gatorade Illinois Boys Track & Field Player of the Year. Watcke is the first Gatorade Illinois Boys Track & Field Player of the Year to be chosen from Hinsdale Central High School.
The 5-foot-11, 140-pound senior won the 800-meter run at the Class 3A state meet this past season, leading the Red
Devils to a fourth place team finish. Competing against professionals in late June, Watcke took 10th in the 800 with
a time of 1:47.70, which broke the state record. That mark ranked No. 2 nationally among prep competitors in 2023.
Watcke also anchored Hinsdale's 4x800 relay quartet to the title at Nike Outdoor Nationals with a time of 7:29.20,
the second-fastest performance in U.S. prep history. In addition, his postseason featured a win in the 800 at the
Hoka Festival of Miles and a silver at the Brooks PR Invitational.
Watcke has volunteered locally on behalf of the Ronald McDonald House of DuPage County, Feed My Starving
Children, HCS Family Services and Notre Dame Catholic Church. "The Oregon-bound Watcke not only roared to
victory at the Class 3A state meet, but he also beat an all-star field at the HOKA Festival of Miles," said Rich
Gonzalez, editor of PrepCalTrack.com. "Watcke then finished as a close runner-up in what was arguably the
strongest 800 field in history at Brooks PR. He also anchored his teammates to the national title at Nike Outdoor
Nationals in the second-fastest boys' prep 4x800 relay performance of all time."
Watcke has maintained a weighted 4.69 GPA in the classroom. He has signed a National Letter of Intent to compete
on an athletic scholarship at the University of Oregon this fall.
Watcke joins recent Gatorade Illinois Boys Track & Field Players of the Year Ryan Watts (2021-22, Edwardsville High
School), Brandon Battle (2020-21, Edwardsville High School), Josh Methner (2019-20, John Hersey High School),
and Marcellus Moore (2018-19, Plainfield North High School), among the state's list of former award winners.
Being a Gatorade Player of the Year means paying it forward for the next generation. Through Gatorade's Play it
Forward initiative, every Player of the Year receives a grant to give to one of Gatorade's social impact partners,
supporting Gatorade's ambition to fuel the future of the sport. To date, Gatorade Player of the Year winners' grants have
totaled more than $3.5 million across more than 1,300 organizations.
