Ann Arbor Pioneer MI Sophomore Surprised By Three-Time GPOY Winner Katelyn Tuohy, Awarded High School Sport's Most Prestigious Award After Winning Both NXN, Brooks XC Titles This Fall

By Oliver Hinson of DyeStat

Photos by Joe Greer for Gatorade

Four-time NCAA champion and professional adidas runner Katelyn Tuohy surprised Ann Arbor Pioneer MI's Natasza Dudek with the 2025-26 Gatorade Cross Country National Player of the Year award on Wednesday morning at her school.

When Dudek arrived at her school in the morning, she received a text that said she needed to go to the gym to sign some papers — she assumed this was for the Michigan Player of the Year Award — and do a photoshoot with her team for an article being written about them. 

She didn’t think anything of it at first, but when she approached the gym, she saw Tuohy and hundreds of other people, and she knew what she was in for.

“It means a lot to me,” Dudek said of winning the award. “This is a very prestigious award… getting recognized like that is something really cool, and I’m really happy that I get to achieve it and share it with everybody else.”

Dudek, a sophomore, enjoyed one of the best cross country seasons in recent memory, winning all 13 of her races, including victories at Nike Cross Nationals and the Brooks XC Championships.

She also led her Ann Arbor team to a win at the NXR Midwest Regional, a moment that she said was the highlight of her season.

“I feel like NXN and Brooks were amazing events,” Dudek said, “but last year, I didn’t even qualify for NXN, so winning NXR and then winning it as a team was a very big milestone.”

Dudek and her teammates made massive strides from 2024 to 2025. She lowered her personal best on the grass from 17:04 to 16:09, and her team went from sixth to first at the Michigan state meet and 13th to first at NXR Midwest.

Tuohy, who won five Gatorade Player of the Year awards during her time at North Rockland High School and presented the 2025 Track and Field award to Jane Hedengren, said she was excited to be part of yet another presentation. 

“Gatorade does an amazing job with the program,” Tuohy said. “It makes the kids feel really special, and it brings back a lot of good memories from when I won the award.”