Press release courtesy of Gatorade – GatoradePOYQuestions@Fleishman.com
CHICAGO (June 20, 2024) — In its 39th year of honoring the nation's most elite high school athletes, Gatorade today announced
Mia Mullenmeister of Mitchell High School is the 2023-24 Gatorade South Dakota Girls Soccer Player of the Year. Mullenmeister is the first Gatorade South Dakota Girls Soccer Player of the Year to be chosen from Mitchell High School.
The award, which celebrates the nation's top high school athletes for excellence on the field, in the classroom and in the community, distinguishes Mullenmeister as South Dakota's best high school girls soccer player. From CEOs and coaches to star athletes, Gatorade Player of the Year winners showcase the power of sport, touting an all-star group of alumni that includes Aly Wagner (1997-98, Presentation High School, Calif.), Mallory Swanson (2014-15, Mountain Vista High School, Colo.) and Kennedy Fuller (2022-23 & 2021-22, Southlake Carroll High School, Texas).
The 5-foot-6 senior forward scored 43 goals and passed for five assists this past season, leading the Kernels (16-2) to the Class AA state championship game. Mullenmeister netted nine goals in four postseason games as Mitchell reached the state title game for the first time in program history. A 2023 United Soccer Coaches High School AllAmerican selection, she is a three-time First Team All-State selection and concluded her prep soccer career with 130 goals.
A member of the Mitchell High School Green Team Recycling Club, Mullenmeister is an active member of the Health Occupations Student Association (HOSA), which promotes career opportunities in the healthcare industry and works to enhance the delivery of quality healthcare to all people. She has volunteered locally as part of multiple community service initiatives through her church. "When we played against Mitchell, Mia was the difference-maker in the game," said Jordan Salamido, head coach of Sioux Falls Christian High School. "We needed to double-team her the entire game and she still managed to score."
Mullenmeister has maintained a 4.0 GPA in the classroom and ranks No. 1 in her class. She has signed a national letter of intent to play soccer on scholarship at Utah State 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.
Mullenmeister joins recent Gatorade South Dakota Girls Soccer Players of the Year Hailee Christensen (2022-23, Harrisburg High School), Tyreese Zacher (2021-22, Brandon Valley High School), Megan Fastenau (2020-21, Aberdeen Central High School) and Jaiden Boomsma (2019-20, Yankton High School), among the state's list of former award winners.
As part of Gatorade's commitment to breaking down barriers in sport, every Player of the Year also receives a grant to donate to a social impact partner. To date, the Gatorade Player of the Year program has provided more than $4.9 million in grants to winners across more than 1,900 organizations.
To learn more about the Gatorade Player of the Year program, check out past winners or to nominate studentathletes, visit playeroftheyear.gatorade.com or follow us on social media on Facebook at facebook.com/GatoradePOY, Instagram at instagram.com/Gatorade
