Gatorade names Camas senior Cohen Butler top state boys runner

Cohen Butler of Camas has been selected as the Gatorade Washington Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year.

Butler is the first athlete from Southwest Washington to earn the state honor for boys cross country since Gatorade’s first selection in the sport in 2008.

The senior, a two-time Columbian All-Region runner of the year, won the Class 4A state championship, winning in a 4A meet-record time of 14 minutes, 47.9 seconds.

The mark was the sixth-fastest all-time at the state meet across all classifications.

He won Nike Cross Northwest Regional Championship in Boise in 14:36.8, matching a personal-best time he set earlier in the fall by setting a meet record at the prestigious Nike Hole in the Wall XC Invitational in Arlington.

Butler has signed to run cross country and track and field at the University of Washington.

Gatorade honors the top athletes in several sports each year, recognizing standouts based on their excellence in sports, academic and community involvement.

While maintaining a 3.76 GPA at Camas High School, Butler has volunteered with his church’s Vacation Bible School. He also supported school and community fundraising efforts and helped organize a shoe and sock drive for the Family & Community Resource Center.

“Cohen Butler is a little like the 100-to-1 longshot that paid off,” said Rich Gonzalez of PrepCalTrack. “In his junior year, the only race he won was his season-opener, and he finished 100th at the Nike Cross regionals. As a senior, Butler won every race he ran on Washington soil and broke the tape at regionals.”

As a state honoree, Butler is now a candidate for the Gatorade National honor for boys cross country, which will be announced later this year.