EL DORADO HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT-ATHLETE NAMED
GATORADE ARKANSAS BOYS TRACK & FIELD PLAYER OF THE YEAR
CHICAGO (June 29, 2023)
In its 38th year of honoring the nation's best high school athletes, Gatorade today
announced DeAndra Burns of El Dorado High School is the 2022-23 Gatorade Arkansas Boys Track & Field
Player of the Year. Burns is the first Gatorade Arkansas Boys Track & Field Player of the Year to be chosen from El
Dorado High School.
The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic
achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Burns as Arkansas' best
high school boys track & field athlete. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Boys Track & Field
Player of the Year award to be announced in July, Burns joins an elite alumni association of state award-winners
in 12 sports, including Nico Young (2019-20, Newbury Park High School, Calif.), Michael Norman (2015-16 & 2014-15,
Vista Murrieta High School, Calif.), Grant Fisher (2014-15 & 2013-14, Grand Blanc High School, Mich.) and Robert
Griffin III (2006-07, Copperas Cove High School, Texas).
The 5-foot-9, 160-pound senior spanned 23 feet, 10 inches to win the long jump at the El Dorado Oil Belt Relays this
past season. The mark ranked No. 28 in the nation among prep boys in 2023. Burns also won two gold medals and
earned a pair of silvers at the Class 5A state meet, leading the Wildcats to third place as a team. He broke the tape
in the 400-meter dash in a personal-best 48.17 seconds and also took second in the 100 and 200, clocking a 10.73
and 21.71, respectively. In the long jump, Burns soared 23-02.50 to finish with 36 individual points at states.
Burns has volunteered locally on behalf of the Boys & Girls Club and is an active member of his church community.
"DeAndra Burns was a one-person highlight reel this season, but his four-event performance in the Class 5A state
meet-which included two golds and two silvers-resulted in one of the most decorated postseason ledgers in
recent memory," said Rich Gonzalez, editor of PrepCalTrack.com. "The senior's best effort came on the long jump
runway, where his personal-best leap of 23-10 at the El Dorado Oil Belt Relays elevated him to fourth place on
Arkansas' all-time list for prep boys."
Burns has maintained a B average in the classroom. He has signed a National Letter of Intent to compete on
scholarship at Arkansas State University this fall.