The talented quartet of Chanelle Price (PA), German Fernandez (CA), Ashley Brasovan (FL) and Chris Derrick (IL) flew into Los Angeles Tuesday, taking part in a two day extravaganza that Gatorade puts on once a year. As the male and female winners of the Gatorade track and field and cross country Player of the Year awards, each athlete was put up a five-star hotel, got to mingle with such notable athletes as Matt Leinhart and Allyson Felix, and took part in an awards ceremony that preceded the ESPY Awards. The Gatorade Player of the Year program drew to an end, naming the male and female national winners. Read about Brasovan's and Derrick's experience, as the two took time out of their busy schedules to talk with MileSplit.

The Bright Lights of L.A. Shining Brightly

Neither athlete expected to win the award, but both accomplished so much during the fall that it was bound to happen. Both Ashley Brasovan (Wellington, FL) and Chris Derrick (Neuqua Valley, IL) earned the Gatorade Player of the Year awards for cross country last fall, and with winning, both had the opportunity to be flown to Los Angeles on Tuesday to take part in the National Player of the Year ceremony, followed by taking part in ESPN's the ESPY Awards.

Treated the Royalty

"This is so sweet!," Derrick said over the phone Wednesday afternoon, "My hotel room has three seperate TV's and one of them is in the bathroom!"

One might think Derrick would be used to star treatment, being flown out to California and Oregon last fall to take part in Foot Locker Nationals and Nike Team Nationals, but five-star hotels never seem to get old.

"We flew in yesterday [Tuesday] and had free time time to go to the mall or just walk around," Brasovan explained, "then we had a welcome gathering and everyone went out to a bowling party they set up for us."

Always the competitor, Derrick half-joked that, "We went bowling, but I was sub-par. I didn't bring my A game."

That's what Tuesday and Wednesday were for Brasovan and Derrick. Treated like royalty and getting a chance to mingle with the other top high school athletes was the whole reason for the two-day excursion. With Tuesday wrapped up, both athletes looked forward to Wednesday that included a free morning allowing time to train, a nice lucheon that included the naming of the National Player of the Year, followed by interviews and then a short break which led to the ESPY Award ceremony.

"It's been really cool," Derrick said about the whole event, "I feel really honored to be here with all these other great athletes, some of them I'll be seeing on TV in the next couple years."

Brasovan showed similar humility in saying, "It's been so surreal. Everyone here is so accomplished. We're all so different, yet so alike all at the same time."

For years the Gatorade Player of the Year program has selected the top student-athletes that exemplify the most accomplished athletes on the playing field, as well as performing highly in the class room and in the community. Such notable winners include basketball stars Greg Oden and Candace Parker, trackster Allyson Felix and pro quarterback Matt Leinhart. Select company to say the least.

Looking Ahead

As both athletes were soaking in the experience in California, both were thinking ahead as well, planning out their course of action towards having even more success in the fall than they had the year before. Both athletes suffered injuries or illness during their track seasons, but Derrick and Brasovan are back training at near 100% and looking forward in a positive light.

"I took a little time off, preparing for cross country," said Brasovan, "I going to be putting in higher mileage and so far my injury hasn't flared up at all, so that's good."

While Brasovan was able to get in good enough shape to finish her season as the Nike Outdoor National 5k champion, Derrick had to sit and watch in North Carolina, seeing German Fernandez snag the high school two-mile record. The bad luck of mono that struck him down, seems to be fully gone and Derrick is back to training once again.

"My training is going really well," he said, "I did 70 miles last week and have been training with the North Central [College] guys."

Moving to the college level seemed to spark Derrick's interest as well, preparing to join his new teammates at Stanford in less than two months.

"I have a training camp with the rest of the team two weeks before school up in Mammouth Lakes [California]. It will be fun getting to train with Ryan Hall, Meb and Deena Kastor a little. I can't wait to get started," Derrick exclaims.

With the ESPY's about to kick-off, both athletes hang up the phone and move into the banquet hall, sitting amongst some of the best professional athletes in the world. As the music drums up and the stage lights pierce the stage, one can only wonder if in a few years one of them will be walking up to the stage to receive their own ESPY award. Only time will tell.

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