Charlotte girls’ cross-country runner named NC Gatorade player of the year
Myers Park High School’s Mary Bonner Dalton was named Gatorade girls’ cross-country athlete of the year for North Carolina on Monday.
Dalton, who carries a 4.69 grade-point average and has signed with Notre Dame, completed her high school career in the sport by finishing fourth at the national Foot Locker championships late last year to earn All-American honors.
To qualify for that event, Dalton recorded the second-fastest 5K ever run by a NC girls’ high school athlete at the Foot Locker South Regionals, where she ran a personal best time of 16:53.80 to finish sixth.
Dalton was named The Observer’s girls runner of the year last month.
Last season, Dalton won the N.C. 4A state championship in 16:54.06, breaking a 27-year-old meet record by 30 seconds, and she finished the season ranked No. 8 nationally by MileSplit among its top 50 runners.
Off the course, Dalton is part of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ Student Athletic Advisory Council and is a member of Myers Park’s International Baccalaureate Student Council. She has volunteered locally on behalf of the Giving Back Committee and the Rotary International Interact Club.
“Mary Bonner Dalton is now a two-time All-American in cross-country who turned in back-to-back scorching performances in a three-week span at states and Foot Locker South,” said Rich Gonzalez of PrepCal Track. “She ran the fastest time on the state meet course since 1996 and she handily beat a bunch of state champions at nationals.”
This story was originally published January 22, 2024 at 11:51 AM.
