T.R.'s Jenerette Gets Big Honor

CHICAGO (March 11, 2010) — In its 25th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with ESPN RISE, today announced Kayla Jenerette of Travelers Rest High School as its 2009-10 Gatorade South Carolina Girls Basketball Player of the Year. Jenerette is the first Gatorade South Carolina Girls Basketball Player of the Year to be chosen from Travelers Rest High School. th anniversary, Gatorade wants you to vote for the All-Time Greatest Players of the Year at gatorade.com/POY25. To keep up to date on the latest happenings, become a fan of Gatorade Player of the Year on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. For more on the Gatorade Player of the Year program, including nomination information, a complete list of past winners, and the announcement of the Gatorade National Player of the Year, visit playeroftheyear.gatorade.com.

The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the court, distinguishes Jenerette as South Carolina’s best high school girls basketball player. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year award announced in March, Jenerette joins an elite alumni association of past state girls basketball award-winners, including Candace Parker (2001-02, Naperville Central HS, Ill.), Diana Taurasi (1998-99 & 1999-00, Don Antonio Lugo HS, Calif.), Maya Moore (2005-06 Collins Hill HS, Ga.), Rashanda McCants (2004-05, Asheville HS, N.C.), Shyra Ely (1999-00, Ben Davis HS, Ind.) and Lisa Leslie (1988-89, Morningside HS, Calif.)

The 5-foot-5 senior guard led the Devildogs (23-6) to the Class AAA state tournament quarterfinals this past season, averaging 22.4 points, 3.8 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 2.9 steals per game. Also the Class AAA Player of the Year as named by the South Carolina Basketball Coaches Association, Jenerette scored 24 points in the 59-56 state quarterfinal loss to Lower Richland. A returning Class AAA All-State selection, she shot 50.0 percent from the field and 78.1 percent form the free-throw line in 2009-10. She concluded her career with 1,584 points.

Also an accomplished pianist, Jenerette has maintained a 4.72 weighted GPA in the classroom, ranks No. 5 in her graduating class and has served on her school’s student council. Also a member of her school’s National Beta Club chapter, the National Honor Society and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, she has volunteered locally as a youth basketball instructor, at a camp for disabled children and on behalf of fundraising efforts for Travelers Rest High’s athletic program. A 2009 Governor’s Citizenship Award recipient, Jenerette has also donated her time to an area assisted living facility.

"She’s dangerous," said Jenny Taylor, head coach of rival Riverside High. "She can drive to the basket or shoot from the outside. She’s fast. She’s hard to stop, but she plays under control. She makes things happen when they need something to happen. They beat us on our home court in the playoffs, and that would not have happened without her. She made her team what they are."

Jenerette has signed a National Letter of Intent to play basketball on scholarship at Ohio’s Cedarville University this fall.

The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. The selection process is administered by ESPN RISE and the Gatorade high school sports leadership team, which work with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.

Jenerette joins recent Gatorade South Carolina Girls Basketball Player of the Year Morgan Stroman (2008-09, 2007-08 & 2006-07, Lower Richland) among the state’s list of former award winners.

To celebrate the award’s 25

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