Status as Vermont’s Gatorade Player of the Year in boys track and field was not necessarily something for which Thetford Academy’s Sebastian Perdrizet was aiming, but it was certainly a nice way to cap off a strong season.
Perdrizet, who recently wrapped up his junior season with the Panthers, received the honor, which has been around since 1985, last week.
The award, which is given to an athlete from each of the 50 states in 12 sports, recognizes “the nation’s most elite high school student-athletes for their accomplishments on and off the field,” according to Gatorade’s website.
“It was kind of like the icing on the cake, and it felt very good,” the rising senior said.
It was a standout junior season for Perdrizet, as he not only set a state record in the triple jump at the VPA Division III state championship meet in early June, finishing first with a jump of 47 feet, 7 inches. But he also extended that record that same month at the New England Championships with a jump of 47-9.5.
That triple jump finish at New Englands earned him first place and made him the second athlete from Thetford in history to win an outdoor event at the meet.
The junior also finished first at D-III states in the long jump (22-11.75), the 200-meter dash (22.72 seconds) and the 100 dash (11.01).
Additionally, Perdrizet had finishes that were top five in the state for the entire season in the 100 (third), 200 (fifth), 400-meter run (third), 110-meter hurdles (first), javelin (fifth), long jump (first) and triple jump (first).
“Sebastian has had this potential since we first met him,” said Thetford co-head coach Emily Silver, who shares duties with Joel Breakstone.
That potential goes back to Perdrizet’s freshman year, when his first triple jump was good enough for second in Thetford’s record books. “It was just amazing to think: What is this kid doing on such little training?” she added.
Silver noted that Perdrizet, who has a 3.18 grade-point average and works delivering meals to patients at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, is also a real student of the game and has taken his training more seriously to stay healthy.
“He is just physically so smart,” she said. “A lot of us can know, ‘Oh, I should get my leg higher,’ but then to actually get yourself to do it is so hard, and he just can.”
The rising senior said the work he has put in to improve his craft stems from his strong desire to do well this past season.
“I really like doing hard things, and sports is kind of my passion — but it’s not just my passion — it’s kind of my escape,” Perdrizet said. “It helps me through my life. I just love the work.”
While the results from Perdrizet’s strong season speak for themselves, Silver emphasized that he is just as good a teammate.
“He gives great notes — Joel and I — we’ll overhear Sebastian giving tips, giving notes to a teammate jumping or giving notes to someone on sprinting form, and we’ll listen and be like, ‘Yes, that’s exactly right,’ ” she said. “I love that he sort of spreads the joy of the sport with his teammates.”
As Perdrizet’s senior season approaches, Breakstone indicated that the sky is the limit.
Breakstone said that there was a real shot Perdrizet could break some of the records set by former Thetford standout Ulysses Junker, who was last year’s Vermont Gatorade Player of the Year in boys track and field.
“Uly’s all-time long jump record is certainly a very obtainable and worthwhile goal for Sebastian,” Breakstone said. “That being said, he’s got to go out and do it.
“Certainly this past year shows he has been improving by — pun intended — leaps and bounds, and we’ll look forward to seeing what he can do next year, both chasing after Uly’s long jump record and then also those records in the sprints. It’ll be fun to see what Sebastian can put together,” he added.
With his senior season on the horizon, Perdrizet has a few objectives: doing well at nationals and getting a chance to continue competing at the collegiate level.
As for his ultimate aim when it comes to competing after high school: “My goal is to go D-I,” he said.
