DALTON, Ga. — In its 33rd year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Co. announced Wednesday Omar Hernandez of Dalton High School as its 2017-18 Gatorade Georgia Boys Soccer Player of the Year. Hernandez is the first Gatorade Georgia Boys Soccer Player of the Year to be chosen from Dalton 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 Hernandez as Georgia’s best high school boys soccer player. He is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Boys Soccer Player of the Year award to be announced later this month.

The 5-foot-10, 142-pound junior forward scored 28 goals and passed for 20 assists this past season, leading the Catamounts (16-3-1) to the second round of the Class 6A state tournament. Hernandez recorded eight multi-goal games, including five hat tricks. He concluded his junior year with 62 goals and 47 assists in his prep soccer career.

Hernandez has volunteered locally as a youth soccer coach.

“Omar’s play this year was top-notch,” said Bryan Hicks, head coach of Northgate High School. “He controlled the game from beginning to end with his technical and tactical ability.”

Hernandez has maintained a weighted 3.36 GPA in the classroom. He has made a verbal commitment to play soccer on scholarship at Wake Forest University beginning in the fall of 2019.

The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in Washington, D.C., and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball and boys and girls track and field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. The selection process is administered by the Gatorade Player of the Year Selection Committee, which works with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.

As a Gatorade Player of the Year, Hernandez will be able to select a national or local youth sports organization to receive a grant as part of the Gatorade Play It Forward program. Every Gatorade Player of the Year state winner receives a $1,000 grant to donate and will have the opportunity to enter for an additional $10,000 spotlight grant by writing a brief essay explaining why their selected organization deserves additional support. Twelve spotlight grants — one for each sport — will be announced throughout the year.

Hernandez joins an elite alumni association of past state soccer award-winners, including Alexi Lalas (1987-88, Cranbrook High School, Michigan), Steve Cherundolo (1996-97, Mount Carmel High School, California), Abby Wambach (1997-98, Our Lady of Mercy, New York), Heather O’Reilly (2001-02, 2002-03, East Brunswick High School, New Jersey), Matt Besler (2004-04, Blue Valley West High School, Kansas), Jack Harrison (2013-14, Berkshire High School, Massachusetts) and Mallory Pugh (2014-15, Mountain Vista High School, Colorado).