CHICAGO, IL (Indiana's NewsCenter)- In its third decade of honoring the nation's best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in partnership with RISE Magazine, today announced Katie Hackney of Huntington North High School as its 2007-08 Gatorade Indiana Softball Player of the Year.
Hackney is the first Gatorade Indiana Softball Player of the Year to be chosen from Huntington North High School.

The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Hackney as Indiana's best high school softball player. Hackney is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year award to be announced this month.

The 5-foot-10 senior pitcher finished 16-2 with a 0.56 ERA, recording 235 strikeouts in 112 innings this season to lead the Vikings
(19-3) to the Class 4A sectionals, where they fell to Homestead, 5-4. A three-time First Team All-State selection, Hackney produced a .479 batting average, 29 RBI, 22 runs scored and eight home runs this spring.

Hackney has maintained a 4.0 GPA in the classroom. A member of the Huntington North Student Athletic Board, she volunteers as an instructor at area youth basketball and softball camps in addition to coaching a youth basketball team and umpiring youth softball games.
Hackney also participates in multiple community-service initiatives on behalf of the National Honor Society.

"Katie is a complete player," said Lisa Tate, head coach of rival Kokomo High. "She's one of the best pitchers I've seen, and she's such a strong hitter. She can put the ball way out. You don't see a pitcher who can hit like that very often."

Hackney has signed a National Letter of Intent to play softball at Purdue University this fall.