Future Rend Lake College cross country runner Lewi Manirumva has been named the Gatorade Player of the Year for Iowa boys cross country.

Manirumva, 18, is a senior at Washinton High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In December he signed his national letter of intent to run for Head Coach Brent McLain and the Warriors next season. Manirumva moved to the U.S. from Burundi, Africa four years ago. In the Class 4A State Championships this past fall, he ran a time of 15 minutes, 31 seconds on the 5k course to finish fourth among all other runners from the largest high schools in Iowa.

For more than 20 years, the Gatorade Player of the Year program has annually recognized outstanding high school student-athletes from across the country.

According to Gatorade program officials, Manirumva is one of the top 50 high school cross country runners in the nation. The Gatorade Player of the Year awards are handed out at the state and national levels and include an “Athlete of the Year” award for the top boy and girl in the country. Recipients of the Athlete of the Year and National Player of the Year for cross country awards have not been selected yet for the 2008-09 school year. Last year’s recipients for Athlete of the Year were California’s Matt Barkley for football and Pennsylvania’s Chanelle Price for track and field. The ‘07-08 National Player of the Year for cross country was Chris Derrick from Naperville, Ill.

Gatorade Player of the Year awards by state for this season go to Manirumva, Patrick McGregor (Hoover, Ala.), Trevor Dunbar (Kodiak, Alaska), Brian Shrader (Flagstaff, Ariz.), Cameron Efurd (Rogers, Ark.), Chris Schwartz (Bakersfield, Calif.), Evan Appel (Littleton, Colo.), John Raneri (New Fairfield, Conn.), Greg Morrin (Wilmington, Del.), John McGowan (Washington DC), Brian Atkinson (Melbourne, Fla.), Taylor Lord (Douglasville, Ga.), Bryce Jenkins (Wahiawa, Hawaii), Barak Watson (Nampa, Idaho), Steve Sulkin (Elmhurst, Ill.), Drew Shields (Fishers, Ind.), PJ Greer (Overland Park, Kan.), Ryan Eaton (Bowling Green, Kent.), Philip Primeaux (Baton Rouge, La.) Will Geoghegan (Brunswick, Maine), Zach Sullivan (Severn, Mary.), Mike Moverman (North Easton, Mass.), Stephen Walker (Midland, Mich.), Lukas Gemar (Moorhead, Minn.), Max Holman (Tupelo, Miss.), Kevin Colon (Lee’s Summit, Mo.), Drew Coco (Whitefish, Mont.), Jarren Heng (Norfolk, Neb.), Wade Meddles (Minden, Nev.), Eric Malnati (Langdon, N.H.), Tyler Udland (Millburn, N.J.), Bryce Palmer (Albuquerque, N.M.), Joe Whelan (Hamburg, N.Y.), Taylor Gilland (Chapel Hill, N.C.), Joash Osoro (Bismarck, N.D.), Zach Wills (Mason, Ohio), Taylor Monaghan (Tulsa, Okla.), Elliott Jantzer (Phoenix, Oreg.), Ben Furcht (Ardmore, Penn.), Andrew Springer (Westerly, R.I.), Aaron Ramirez (Piedmont, S.C.), Alex Muntefering (Parkston, S.D.), Bill Matthews (Chattanooga, Tenn.), Reed Connor (The Woodlands, Texas), Jonathan Nelson (Provo, Utah), Adron Pitmon (Jericho, Vt.), Thomas Porter (Stafford, Va.), Andrew Kimpel (Spokane, Wash.), Cody Pelliccioni (Morgantown, W.V.), Brett Kelly (Madison, Wisc.), Dominick Robinson (Gillette, Wyo.).