Photo by Richard Force.
Vestavia Hills' Alex Leath leads Vestavia to a 1, 2, 3 finish during a race during the AHSAA Class 7A Section 3 track and field sectionals at Hewitt-Trussville Stadium on Saturday, April 29, 2023. Photo by Richard Force.
Vestavia Hills High School’s Alex Leath was announced Thursday as the Gatorade Alabama Boys Track and Field Player of the Year.
Leath is the second Vestavia Hills athlete to win the award, joining Ethan Strand, who won the award in 2020-21.
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 Leath as Alabama’s best high school boys track and field athlete, according to a release announcing the award.
Leath is also a finalist now for the national Track and Field Player of the Year award, set to be announced in July.
The 6-foot-1, 160-pound senior won the 800- and 1,600-meter events at the Class 7A state meet in the spring, leading the Rebels to a second-place finish as a team.
Leath’s winning time in the 1,600 of 4:07.33 ranked No. 19 nationally in 2023. He took seventh in the 800 at the Brooks PR Invitational in a state- record 1:49.84, which ranked No. 15 nationally. He also earned dual All-American honors at Nike Outdoor Nationals with a sixth-place finish in the 800, followed by his anchor leg for a 4x800-meter relay that took second in a state-record time of 7:30.68, according to the same release.
Leath has also volunteered locally as part of multiple fundraising campaigns to benefit cancer research in association with Vestavia Rise.
Leath has maintained a weighted 4.11 GPA in the classroom. He has signed to compete at the University of Virginia this fall.
