In its 41st year celebrating the nation’s best high school athletes, Gatorade announced Jackson Tuck of Greer Middle College Charter High School is the 2025-26 Gatorade South Carolina Boys Cross Country Player of the Year.
Gatorade Player of the Year is the top honor in high school sports, celebrating the nation’s best high school athletes for their excellence in sport, academics and community.
The award recognizes Tuck as South Carolina’s best high school boys cross country athlete, and he joins an elite legacy that spans professional athletes and coaches to CEOs.
The 5-foot-11, 135-pound senior won the Class 3A state meet this past season, clocking the fastest all-class time of the day (15:03.2) and leading the Blazers to the team title. Tuck was also South Carolina’s fastest competitor at the NXN Southeast Regional, where he took fifth to earn First Team All-Region honors and clinch the state’s only bid to nationals.
His fourth-place finish at the VA XC Showcase came in a personal-best time of 14:55.8—the state’s best 5K clocking of 2025.
Tuck has volunteered locally on behalf of Black Mountain Children’s Home, Front Porch Housing, Greer Community Ministry and Grace Church. He has also donated his time coaching youth distance runners.
“I think Jackson Tuck was the class of the state last fall,” said John Olson, a MileSplit SC editor. “He was the only South Carolina runner to qualify for Nike nationals and won an individual and team state title.”
Tuck has maintained a 3.89 GPA in the classroom. He has signed a written letter of athletic aid to run at Appalachian State this fall.
