Miller Place's Jillian Scully named Gatorade NY Girls Track & Field Athlete of Year
Miller Place's Jillian Scully wins the Class B girls shot put at Day 1 of the the state outdoor track and field championshipis on June 13 in Middletown. Credit: Neil Miller
Gatorade announced on Monday that Miller Place’s Jillian Scully is its 2025 New York Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year.
Scully, a graduating senior who is committed to LSU, was selected last Tuesday, but the information was announced via news release on Monday. She dominated New York’s throwing scene, breaking the state record in the discus throw three times in a five-week span, finishing with a best of 184 feet, 10 inches. Her record was 33 feet, four inches better than the state’s second-best discus thrower.
She won the indoor state championship in the shot put and was ranked No. 1 in New York for the winter season at 48-4 1/4. Outdoors, she won the state title in the NYSPHSAA Class B discus and NYSPHSAA Class B shot put, as well as the New York Federation discus.
“I woke up this morning to an email from Gatorade saying, ‘Congratulations, you won!,’ ” Scully said. “I was like, ‘I did?’ That was a great way to start the day. It’s very cool. I’m very honored. I worked my butt off. I wouldn’t say I deserve it, but I’m very happy it happened for me. Very happy.”
She is the first Miller Place athlete to win Gatorade Player of the Year.
“It’s an incredible accomplishment for her,” Miller Place athletic director Ron Petrie said. “For what she represents within the school, the community and the sport of track and field, it just speaks to the person that she is. She’s a very humble kid — somebody who puts in a lot of time on her own. She embodies the work ethic and commitment that you would hope to see out of a high-caliber athlete, and she’s reaping the rewards of it right now.
“We’re extremely blessed to have her as part of the athletic program. To see her growth and what she’s accomplished. She’s just special; she really is. We could not be prouder of any individual.”
Gatorade also takes community impact and academics into consideration for the award. Scully volunteers much of her free time to the Thomas Scully Foundation, a charity named after her brother who died of cancer in 2016 at 12 years old. There, she helps provide support to families with sick children and helps raise funds for research on pediatric cancer and potential cures. She is also a member of the Natural Helpers, a school club that has student leaders in their grade provide help to fellow students who deal with trauma.
All while making an impact in the thrower’s circle and the community, Scully maintained a B grade-point average.
Mike Anderson is a high school sports reporter who has covered 12 sports so far at Newsday. He was the sports editor of Stony Brook University's campus newspaper for two years.
