Alexa Efraimson earns Gatorade National cross country award

Camas High School junior Alexa Efraimson was surprised by a former Olympian this morning during her advanced marketing class.

Efraimson was planning to make a speech, when professional distance runner Molly Huddle entered the classroom and presented her with the 2013-14 Gatorade National Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year trophy.

“I was so excited,” Efraimson said later about the surprise. “I started to tear up. It was awesome.”

The award recognizes outstanding athletic excellence, as well as high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field.

Efraimson, 17, is a two-time cross country and a two-event track state champion.

During a press conference that followed the surprise presentation, she said she was honored and humbled to receive the Gatorade award.

Efraimson’s parents, Dan and Chantel, and sister Jenna, were there, along with friends, family members, teammates, coaches, school superintendant Mike Nerland, school board members and faculty.

A celebration dinner, involving 30 people, is planned for tonight.

Look for the full story in the March 4 print edition of the Camas-Washougal Post-Record.