Even by his standards, this week has been a victory lap of epic proportions for Rocky Hansen ’23.
The five-time state champion and three-time national champion from Hendersonville, N.C., was named the Gatorade North Carolina Boys Track & Field Player of the Year on Wednesday. Two days earlier, NCRunners.com made Rocky its overall MVP for the 2021-22 school year.
“Simply put, Rocky excels at whatever he puts his mind towards,” Christ School coach Randy Ashley said.
“I’ve been his coach since he was 10 years old. In the time span between then and now, I have coached over 500 kids. I can say he has, unequivocally, been the most sincere, dedicated athlete of them all. His success this season and this year are a product of the spirit he embodies.”
Rocky is only the second Christ School athlete to ever receive a Gatorade North Carolina Player of the Year award – the first was Marshall Plumlee ’11 in basketball.
Has any Greenie ever performed at a higher level, regardless of the sport? It's definitely up for debate and Rocky still has a year to go.
Track-wise, Rocky ran all-time state records in the 1,600-meter run (3:59.27), 1-mile run (4:00.76), 3,200-meter run (8:43.90), and 2-mile run (8:46.97) this spring. He also contributed to the best 3,200-meter relay in school history (7:50.14), along with Jackson Burch ’22, Kahzi Sealey ’23, and Dawson Reeves ’24.
Athletic prowess is obviously the biggest component to the Gatorade nomination process, but academics and extracurricular activities are factored in as well.
Rocky maintains a weighted 4.51 grade-point average and was inducted into the National Honor Society in April. He will be Day Student Prefect for the 2022-23 school year. Additionally, Rocky has also been active in Christ School's Environmental Conservation Club and various other service-learning initiatives.