13 Days Until the State Boys Cross Country Announcement
Gatorade 2025 - 2026: Player of the Year

Girls Cross Country - Minnesota

Gatorade Player of the year

Maddie Gullickson

Runner
WAYZATA HS
PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA
SENIOR
Height: 5-FOOT-8
Press Release

Peak Performance

7th

Nike Cross Nationals

6th

Brooks Cross Country Championships

1st

Class AAA state meet
“Maddie Gullickson clocked a season-best four weeks in a row last fall, culminating in her PR at Nike Heartland.  A month later, she led her team to the national championship at Nike Cross Nationals. Along the way, she won a state title and helped the Midwest team take the national Brooks XC Championships crown. She did more than enough to be the Gatorade Player of the Year.”
Rich Gonzalez
Editor - PrepCalTrack

Athletic Excellence

The 5-foot-8 senior earned First Team All-American honors and both premier national championship meets this past season, taking seventh at the Nike Cross Nationals and leading the Trojans to the national team title. Gullickson also finished sixth at the national Brooks XC Championships and finished No. 7 in the country in the final MileSplit50 rankings. She broke the tape at the Class AAA state meet to anchor Wayzata’s team championship and her win at the NXN Heartland Regional Championship came in a personal-best 16:49.5.

Academic Achievement

Gullickson has maintained a weighted 3.98 GPA in the classroom. She has signed a written letter of athletic aid to run at North Carolina State University this fall.

Exemplary Character

Gullickson is pursuing her CNA certificate and has performed two, full-day clinical rotations at a memory care facility. She has volunteered locally on behalf of a Unified Arts class serving physically and intellectually challenged students and she’s donated her time to the Rising Stars running camp for elementary schoolers.