(L-R) Hannah Dederick, Noah Malone, Sydney Barta and Ezra Frech competed at the 2019 Parapan American Games in Lima, Peru, earning a combined nine medals at the competition. 

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – U.S. Paralympics Track & Field announced today the 2019 class of high school All-Americans. The list honors the top high school track and field athletes who have a Paralympic-eligible impairment based on their performances in the 2019 season. Sixty-nine athletes, including 40 males and 29 females, were named to the 10th edition of the team.

“We are fortunate to have a great class of talented young athletes in the Para track and field pipeline,” said Joaquim Cruz, resident Para track and field coach at the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center. “At the World Para Athletics Junior Championships this summer, I was impressed to see how well the athletes conducted themselves, both on and off the field of competition.”

The award was created in 2010, highlighting young U.S. athletes who have gone on to compete at the Paralympic Games, world championships and set world records. Previous honorees include Alexa Halko (Williamsburg, Virginia), Philip Croft (Spokane, Washington), Isaiah Rigo (Cheney, Washington) and Adam Kiel (Ackworth, Georgia).

The selection criteria looked at the top athlete performances in each event in 2019 as compared against the “A” standard for the U.S. Paralympics Track & Field National Team. The ranking list reflects those top performances in descending order based on the result as compared to the “A” standard by percentage. The general disability categories of athletes named to the All-American list are visual impairment (11-13), intellectual impairment (20), cerebral palsy (33-38), dwarfism (40), amputation/limb loss (41-46/61-64) and spinal cord injury (51-57).

“Although there is still a lot to be done to raise awareness of Paralympic Sport among youth with disabilities, I am looking forward to seeing more junior athletes participating at the elite level at the 2020 U.S. Paralympic Team Trials and at the Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020," Cruz said.

2019 honorees Sydney Barta (Arlington, Virginia), Hannah Dederick (Spokane, Washington), Ezra Frech (Los Angeles, California), Joel Gomez (Encinitas, California), Beatriz Hatz (Lakewood, Colorado) and Noah Malone (Fishers, Indiana) recently competed at the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

In addition to recognizing the 69 athletes, four athletes were also honored as the 2019 U.S. Paralympics Track & Field High School Athletes of the Year.

Athletes of the Year
Female Track Athlete of the Year – Hannah Dederick
Spokane, Washington, native and Central Valley High School student Dederick is a force on the track. She took home four gold medals at the junior world championships in Nottwil, Switzerland, winning the 100, 200, 400 and 800 T54 before moving to the senior stage. At the Parapan American Games in Lima, Peru, Dederick left with three medals, including two golds and one silver, winning the women’s 100 and 400 T54, and finishing third in the 800 T54. In her senior world championship debut, Dederick placed sixth in the 100 T54.

Male Track Athlete of the Year – Noah Malone
Malone, a senior at both Hamilton Southeastern High School and Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, won gold in the men's 100 and 200 T12 at the junior world championships, while also earning a silver medal in the 400. Malone helped make history at the Parapan American Games, when he was part of the gold medal winning 4x100 universal relay, the first-ever race of its kind at a major internal competition. He also took home the silver medal in the 100 T12. Malone made his senior world debut in Dubai, earning a gold medal in the 4x100 universal relay. This is the second year in a row Malone has received the top honor.

Female Field Athlete of the Year – Sydney Barta
After earning gold medals in both the 100 and 200 T45-64 at the junior world championships, National Cathedral High School’s Barta made her senior level debut at the Parapan American Games, where the 15-year-old phenom earned gold in the women’s 200 T64 and bronze in the women’s discus F64. In Dubai, Barta finished fourth in the 200 T64, seventh in shot put T64 and ninth in discuss T64, competing against the best of the best.

Male Field Athlete of the Year – Sam Brym
As a student at Brownall Talbot School in Omaha, Nebraska, Sam Brym has made himself known in the track world. At the 2019 Turnstone Endeavor Games, Brym medaled in both the men’s discus and shot put F37, earning first and third. Brym then turned his attention to the Desert Challenge Games where he claimed gold in the men’s long jump T37 and silver in shot put F37. To cap off a great 2019 season, Brym competed at the junior world championships in Notwill, Switzerland, earning a bronze medal in the men’s long jump T35-38.

2019 U.S. Paralympics Track & Field High School All-Americans