Newbury Park’s Colin Sahlman named Gatorade national cross-country runner of the year

Colin Sahlman of Newbury Park High was on campus two years ago to clap and get excited when teammate Nico Young received an award from Gatorade as the top cross-country runner in the nation for 2019-20.

It happened again Wednesday, except this time it was teammates applauding Sahlman as the winner of the Gatorade national cross-country runner of the year.

“It’s very special,” Sahlman said. “It’s the most prestigious award for high school sports and to see Nico get it two years ago is an amazing experience.”

Sahlman said he used Young as his role model. He will join Young this fall at Northern Arizona. Sahlman has been setting records this winter in track and field. He ran 3:58.81 in an indoor mile in New York this month, the third-fastest indoor mile ever by a high school athlete.

He plans to run the 3,200 at the Arcadia Invitational in April, then focus on the mile the rest of the outdoor season.

During the cross-country season, he won league, section, state and national titles. He ran 14:03.29 in Alabama, a national record for a 5K by a high school athlete.