27 Days Until the State Football Announcement
Gatorade 2019 - 2020: Player of the Year

Boys Cross Country - New Hampshire

athletes playing Boys Cross Country
The POY Logo
BOYS CROSS COUNTRY

Jake Velazquez

Distance Runner
KEENE HS
KEENE, NEW HAMPSHIRE
SENIOR
Height: 5-FOOT-7
Press Release

Peak Performance

1st - 15:12.50

NHIAA Meet of Champions

1st

Division 1 State Championship

70th - 15:47

New England XC Championship
“Jake embodies true grit, determination and perseverance. He’s endowed with exceptional physical talent, but he’s achieved through focused, hard work and attentiveness to coaching. He’s like no other athlete I’ve had the opportunity to coach over a 37-year career. His mental preparation, his ability to accommodate high levels of stressful physical training and his unique ability to lead by both performance and inspiration have combined to make him a truly talented student-athlete.”
David Goldsmith
Head Coach Head coach at Keene High
excellence star

Athletic Excellence

The 5-foot-7, 138-pound senior distance talent won the NHIAA Meet of Champions this past season, breaking the tape in a personal-best 15:12.50 and leading the Blackbirds to a fourth-place finish as a team. Velazquez also won the Division 1 state meet, finishing 14.5 seconds ahead of his next-closest competitor to help Keene capture state divisional runner-up honors. The teen’s winning MOC time was the second-fastest in meet history and his D1 championship run was the fifth-fastest in meet history. A two-time New England All Star and All-State selection, he closed out 2019 with a seventh-place finish at the New England Cross Country Championship in 15:47, sparking his team to seventh place in the region.

a graduation cap

Academic Achievement

Velazquez has maintained a 3.57 GPA in the classroom. He has signed a National Letter of Intent to run on scholarship at UMass-Lowell this fall.

first place ribbon

Exemplary Character

A pianist, soloist and amateur composer, Velazquez has played in the Keene High band in addition to singing in the a capella and all-school choirs as well as performing in school musical theater productions and at a nursing home. He has volunteered locally as a counselor at summer youth cross country and track camps for three years running. Velazquez has also donated his time on behalf of Summer Track Nights with the City of Keene, as an official for two Memorial XC and track invitational events, and as a youth coach with the Elm City Track Club, where he prepared competitors for the 2019 Junior Olympics.