Organ Mountain’s Corbin Coombs earns Gatorade Player of the Year honors for track and field
Corbin Coombs of Organ Mountain High School has been named the Gatorade New Mexico Boys Track & Field Player of the Year after a record-setting season, top grades and international outreach work in Uganda and Guatemala.
Senior becomes first from OMHS to earn statewide recognition for athletic excellence, academic success and global service work
Damien Willis, Organ Mountain News
LAS CRUCES - Organ Mountain High School senior Corbin Coombs has been named the 2024-25 Gatorade New Mexico Boys Track & Field Player of the Year — a recognition that honors not just athletic performance but academic achievement and community impact.
Coombs is the first athlete in school history to earn the statewide honor, which was announced last week by the Gatorade Player of the Year program. The award has previously recognized athletes like Peyton Manning, Jayson Tatum and Allyson Felix.
A standout on both the track and in cross-country, the 6-foot-1 senior led the Knights to a third-place team finish at the Class 5A state championships in May. He claimed individual titles in the 800- and 1,600-meter races and anchored Organ Mountain’s gold-medal 4x400-meter relay team.
Coombs posted New Mexico’s fastest times this season in both the 800 (1:52.49) and 1,600 (4:14.86) and finished the year ranked among the top 25 nationally in the 800.
“Corbin is an incredible athlete who has done everything the right way,” said Organ Mountain track and field coach Michael Gallegos. “He’s been a team leader, a role model and one of the hardest workers I’ve ever coached.”
He also served as captain of the school’s cross-country team, helping Organ Mountain finish fifth at the Class 5A championships last fall. He placed sixth individually in that meet.
But Coombs’ résumé extends far beyond athletics.
He graduated with a 3.91 GPA, served as a student leader on campus and was active in his church and community. He volunteered regularly with youth track programs and participated in international outreach trips to Uganda and Guatemala, where he helped build schools and deliver basic medical aid in underserved communities.
“He brings the same focus and humility to his service work that he brings to the track,” Gallegos said. “Corbin’s the kind of student-athlete who makes you believe the future’s in good hands.”
Coombs has signed a national letter of intent to compete for the University of New Mexico, where he’ll join the Lobos’ cross-country and track programs this fall.
As part of the Gatorade Player of the Year program, he’ll also receive a $1,000 grant to donate to a youth sports nonprofit of his choice through Gatorade’s “Play It Forward” initiative.
The national Gatorade Player of the Year — selected from among the 50 state winners — will be announced later this summer.
Damien Willis is founder and editor of Organ Mountain News. If you have a personal story to share or a lead we should follow up on, reach out at OrganMountainNews@gmail.com or connect with him on X at @damienwillis.
