The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the track, distinguishes Beach as the nation's best high school boys track & field athlete. A national advisory board comprised of sportswriters and sport-specific experts from around the country helped select Beach from more than 548,000 high school boys track & field athletes nationwide. Beach is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade Male High School Athlete of the Year award, to be presented at a special afternoon ceremony prior to The ESPY Awards in July.