Albuquerque Academy’s Anna Hastings named New Mexico track and field Player of the Year
Anna Hastings won New Mexico’s girls track and field Player of the Year after a state-meet sweep in the 800, 1600 and 3200 and a Brown-bound senior year at Albuquerque Academy.
Anna Hastings of Albuquerque Academy was named the 2025-26 New Mexico Girls Track and Field Player of the Year on June 25, giving Bernalillo County another look at the depth of the Chargers’ distance-running pipeline. Hastings is the second Albuquerque Academy athlete to claim a 2025-26 Gatorade New Mexico title, following boys cross country winner Nicholas Ponte, who earned his honor on Feb. 13.
The Gatorade Player of the Year program was in its 41st year when Hastings was selected, and its state awards recognize one winner in each of the 50 states and Washington, D.C., across 12 sports. Gatorade says 610 athletes are honored nationally each year, with the award built around athletic excellence, academic achievement and exemplary character. Hastings fit all three categories with a weighted 4.54 GPA and plans to compete at Brown University this fall.
On the track, Hastings put together the kind of spring that made the honor hard to miss. At the 2026 New Mexico Activities Association Class 4A state championships, she won the 800 meters in 2:14.64, then added titles in the 1600 meters in 5:02.57 and the 3200 meters in 10:56.15. Earlier in the season, she swept the distance events at the Richard Harper Invite, winning the 1600 in 4:59.27 and the 3200 in 11:02.07.
Those results lined up with the state’s broader recruiting picture. MileSplit named Hastings New Mexico’s top Class of 2026 distance recruit and said she held the state’s leading marks in the 1600 and 3200. For younger runners in Albuquerque and across Bernalillo County, the progression is visible in the numbers: a local invite sweep, then a three-event championship performance, then statewide recognition.
Hastings’ profile also extends beyond competition. Gatorade noted that she volunteered as a director at Effects, a nonprofit that helps teach science education at underfunded elementary schools in Albuquerque, and served as a peer math tutor and counselor at the Field Institute of Taos. The award, established in 1985, has long paired results on the track with academic and community records, and Hastings’ resume matched that formula with a Brown commitment, top grades and a season that ran through every distance bracket New Mexico had to offer.
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