ANN ARBOR – Natasza Dudek is no longer next in line to be a cross-country superstar – she is now leading the way. The Ann Arbor Pioneer star set multiple records during her dominating sophomore season last fall, and those performances helped her earn the nation’s most prestigious individual honor on Wednesday. Dudek was named the 2025-26 Gatorade National Girls Cross Country Player of the Year, becoming just the second Michigan runner to earn the award. She joined Rochester’s Megan Goethals who claimed the national honor for the 2009-2010 season. RELATED: Pioneer XC phenom Natasza Dudek ‘shocked’ by Gatorade Player of the Year awardThe 5-foot-2 athlete became the first high school girls runner to win both the Nike Cross Nationals and Brooks XC Championships in the same cross country season and just the third sophomore to win either title.