Ottawa High junior thrower Kord Ferguson won the Gatorade Kansas Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year Award.

The 6-foot-6, 220-pound junior won Class 4A state titles in discus and shot put this spring, throwing the discus 187 feet, 4 inches, and hurling the shot put 61-6.75 to lead the Cyclones to a third-place finish as a team. Ferguson’s season-best efforts of 63-6 in the shot put and 199-1 in the discus each ranked as the nation’s No. 9 performances among prep competitors in 2013.

Gatorade’s athlete of the year award recognizes athletic excellence as well as high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character. Ferguson has maintained a 3.27 GPA in the classroom. Also a football standout, he has volunteered locally mowing lawns and shoveling snow for the elderly and assisting with youth-sports programs.

“Kord has become a leader for our track team,” Ottawa track coach Mark Laws said in a release. “He leads by example with his positive approach to the sport and the way he works hard to attain his goals.”

Ferguson is a finalist for the Gatorade National Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year Award.