Rio Rancho's Vause receives ultimate Gatorade bath — he was named National Player of the Year

RIO RANCHO — His family knew for three weeks, his coach for a month.

On a cold Tuesday morning, the secret they had been dying to share was made available for everyone — including the subject of this confidential information.

That would be Charlie Vause, a senior at Rio Rancho High School whom Gatorade recognized Tuesday as the 2024-25 National Boys Cross Country Player of the Year.

This was quite a proverbial Gatorade bath.

“Are you serious?” an astonished Vause said as he arrived at the top of a staircase that leads into the school’s track facility.

Olympic runner Grant Fisher was crouched behind a wall at the entrance to the Rams’ track, waiting to spring this surprise on Vause. He quickly handed Vause the magnificent trophy that goes with this honor.

“My first thought was, ‘What is Grant Fisher doing at my track?’” Vause said with a big smile. “It was incredible. I’m still, like, processing it.”

Of the moment that he spotted Fisher, Vause said, “I was just amazed. I didn’t really think that it was real. … I kind of lost my mind for a moment.”

Vause is just the second New Mexican to be awarded a Gatorade national award. The great Curtis Beach of Albuquerque Academy was the boys national track and field recipient for the 2008-09 school year.

Rams coach Phil Keller said he learned of this honor a month ago. Vause’s mother, Kim, said she’s known for three weeks. It was eating at both of them, they said, not to be able to spill the news to Charlie.

“It’s incredible and it’s just really amazing,” said Kim Vause. “I feel like this year has been a culmination of everything Charlie has worked for. He’s such a great kid and we love him so much, but more than being a great runner, he’s a really great human being and we’re just so proud of him.”

Vause had a stellar 2024 season for the Class 5A state champion Rams, and was the state runner-up to rival Corbin Coombs of Organ Mountain.

Vause’s major accomplishment on the course was winning the Nike Cross Nationals in the rain and mud in Portland, Oregon, in early December. He was the first New Mexican to have won that competition.

That, combined with being the national Gatorade recipient, elevates the state’s reputation considerably, Keller said.

“Just shows that New Mexicans can be as good as anyone in the country,” Keller said. “Hopefully we can get some more of these.”

Tuesday capped a whirlwind week and a half for Vause.

On Feb. 8, Vause competed at the Nike Boys Mile at the Millrose Games in New York City, where he placed ninth. Two days later, he signed his collegiate letter with BYU. And a couple of days after that, Gatorade pegged him as New Mexico’s cross country Player of the Year.

And now this.

“Dreams coming to fruition, I think,” Vause said of this burst of accolades.

Kim Vause said her son’s “rough” run at the Millrose Games made it even more difficult to keep her mouth shut regarding Tuesday.

“You want to say, good things are coming,” she said. “It was hard to keep it a secret.”

Vause said he had been wondering of late who the national award winner would be in cross country.

“I didn’t think it would be me,” he said.

Vause moved to New Mexico from Ohio before the 2023-24 school year, and came out and won his first event, at Cleveland, announcing his presence on the state’s running scene.

He was the 2023 Class 5A state champion and has been a major factor in just about every race he’s entered with the Rams.

“I think he’s a strong and resilient runner,” Fisher said.

The 2025 track and field season for Rio Rancho began last week. Vause has plenty of meets scheduled both inside New Mexico and out, including the Nike Indoor Nationals in New York City next month.

“I’m so proud of him,” Keller said. “For Rio Rancho and the state of New Mexico as a whole, it’s such a great thing.”

Half an hour after getting the trophy from Fisher, Vause seemed to finally have absorbed the moment.

“I guess,” he said, smiling, “it’s real now. … I’m just beyond grateful for the place I’m at now, and everyone (who) has helped me get there.”