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Estella Laird honored as a top runner in nation

LINCOLN — From the hills of Lincoln to the mountains of Montenegro, running has taken Lincoln resident and high school senior Estella Laird to some great heights.
It’s also earned her several accolades. Laird, 17, crossed the finish line as Vermont’s Division I state champion cross country runner this past October, finished among the fastest competitors at the New England Interscholastic Cross Country Championships in November, and added another award to her list of accomplishments this month when she was named the 2024-25 Gatorade Vermont Girls Cross Country Player of the Year.
The Gatorade Player of the Year program aims to recognize the nation’s best high school athletes for their success in and outside of their respective sport. Each year, the program selects one winner across 12 different high school sports from Washington, D.C., and each of the 50 states.
“I was super excited,” Laird said on receiving the award. “I got a text on my phone as I was going to school; my mom and I were in the same room and we were both really excited. I applied for it last year, but it’s always kind of a tossup who it’s going to go to.”
The process of selecting each year’s winners is conducted by the Gatorade Player of the Year Selection Committee, which includes coaches, scouts, media and “others as sources to help evaluate and determine the state winners in each sport.”The award distinguishes Laird as the Green Mountain State’s best high school girls’ cross country athlete, according to a Jan. 16 press release.
Earlier cross country awardees from around the country include distance runner Jordan Hogan (Hasay) and middle- and long-distance runner Katelyn Tuohy.

LINCOLN RESIDENT AND high school senior Estella Laird recently was named the 2024-25 Gatorade Vermont Girls Cross Country Player of the Year for her accomplishments in and outside of the sport. The award is aimed at recognizing the nation’s best high school athletes across 12 different sports, including cross country running.
Photo by Lillian Seibert Goldwing Photography
Reflecting on how she got into the sport, Laird said she’s always loved running and would often run near her home growing up in New York.
She continued the practice after her family moved to Lincoln during the pandemic and started racing competitivelyduring her freshman year at Ripton’s North Branch School in 2021.
“I just fell in love with the sport and the training, and being outside I love as a part of my everyday routine,” Laird said.
That fall, Laird claimed the D-III girls’ individual title at the Vermont High School Cross Country Championships in Thetford. She completed the 5-kilometer race in 20 minutes and 28.1 seconds —around 20 seconds ahead of the runner-up.
She continued running cross country at Champlain Valley Union High School during her sophomore and junior years. While competing for CVU, Laird twice helped the girls’ cross country team secure the D-I team title at the state championship meet with top-four finishes.
This school year Laird moved to Green Mountain Valley School (GMVS) in Waitsfield. When she won the D-I 5K title race this time, she completed the 3.1-mile course in 19:16.70, which was 15 seconds ahead of second place.
“She raised her performance this year,” her former coach at CVU, David Baird, said of Laird in the press release. “Winning at Thetford in the state championship is no easy thing to do. She also did everything this year with her normal grace and incredible sportsmanship.”
Laird went on to compete at the 89th New England Interscholastic Cross Country Championships in Manchester, Conn., in November, where she finished 10th with a personal-best time of 18:32.0. Laird was Vermont’s top finisher at the event.
She was also the state’s fastest finisher at the Manhattan College Cross Country Invitational in New York this past October, where she placed sixth in the Girls Eastern States Championship. She finished the 2.5-mile race in 14:54:20.
‘LIKE A MEDITATION’
Laird said she enjoys the team aspect of cross country. Winning the girls’ team title with her fellow CVU runners at the 88th New England Cross Country Championships in 2023 is among the achievements that stand out to Laird from her running career, along with claiming the D-I individual title this past fall.
“Just the community around it and the work ethic that usually surrounds the sport and the people that do it and just being in the woods and the mountains or wherever it brings you I really love,” Laird said.
Going on training runs give her some mental clarity, she said.
“It’s almost like a meditation, so instead of feeling like the training is hardship, I see it as a reward every day, which is really nice,” she explained. “Also, not putting too much pressure on myself and just taking each race one at a time really helps to not get too stressed about it and remember that it’s just for fun.”
In addition to cross country, Laird runs track in the spring. This past summer, she also participated in the 2024 Youth Skyrunning World Championships in Bar, Montenegro, a competition that includes a 5-kilometer race with a 1,000-meter vertical climb and a 12-kilometer race with an 800-meter vertical climb.
Laird was among a handful of youth runners from the United States to participate in the competition, which attracted over 200 runners from five continents and 28 different countries. She finished seventh among female competitors her age in the 12K race and 12th in the 5K race.
“It was so beautiful and such a fun experience,” Laird said of the competition.
During the winter months, Laird is a part of GMVS’s Nordic ski team. She said she picked up the sport during her freshman year of high school and finds it similar to running.

ESTELLA LAIRD RACING
Photo courtesy of Estella Laird
“It’s long endurance races, which I really like, and just learning the new technique and the community I really love,” she said.
Lincoln resident Marilyn Ganahl has known Laird since she was born and spent a lot of time with her over the years.
“Honestly, I cannot say enough good things about the person that Stella is. She has very quietly and humbly gone about accomplishing so much in her life already — whether it’s academic work or the many sports she has participated in, and weeks-long adventure/survival camps as well,” Ganahl told the Independent. “Her parents and three older siblings and extended family members are all multi-talented people in their own right, and there is such a lovely family spirit of support and encouragement for each other. Several are talented musicians, and Stella is right there engaging in music as well.
“We need to celebrate young people like Stella because they are the hope for our future. The quiet heroes. The empathetic and kind people. The excellent citizens. Simply the best,” Ganahl continued.
EXPANDING ACCESS
Outside of sports, Laird is involved in the Green Team and a women’s empowerment club at GMVS. She said ensuring women have opportunities to continue their sports careers is a passion of hers.
“After usually middle school so many women drop out of sports and don’t continue, often because of the environment or resources,” Laird explained.
She plans to use her Gatorade Player of the Year award to help expand access to sports and outdoor activities for local youth. Each awardee receives a $1,000 grant to donate to a community organization. Laird said she’ll give the funds to Lincoln Sports, a nonprofit that aims to serve the community by providing accessible recreational and outdoor experiences in and around Lincoln.
She hopes the funds can help provide scholarships for the Lincoln Sports summer camp.
“It’s really hard to get into sports if you don’t have the resources, but I think during the summer it would be a great opportunity for a bunch of kids that maybe wouldn’t be able to do it,” she said.
Looking back on her high school sports career, Laird said being a student athlete has taught her about time management.
“You get home late from practice and might not have a lot of time, but I think it also gives a nice structure to life because you don’t have a lot of time to procrastinate or get distracted, and it helps me stay on track of my goals,” she said. “Also, I think the sports that I do help me stay disciplined and take that also to school.”
Laird expressed gratitude for the coaches who have offered her support and assistance over the years — Baird and Colin Rodgers of GMVS.
She plans to continue her running career at Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., this fall, where she’ll run track and cross country.
What advice would Laird pass onto other student athletes?
“Remember that it’s all for fun and joy; carry that with you and using the joy that you get from sports to power you through all of life,” she said. “Take the lessons that you get from sports and use them to your advantage because you can often learn a lot from what you do in day-to-day life.”
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