Kapaun running back Omari Elias named Gatorade Kansas Football Player of the Year
Kapaun Mt. Carmel running back Omari Elias has added one more accolade to his sterling high school football career.
The all-time City League rushing leader has been selected the Gatorade Kansas Football Player of the Year for the 2023-24 season, becoming the first Kapaun player to earn the honor in the award’s 39-year history.
The award aims to honor the nation’s top high school athletes for excellence on the field, in the classroom and in the community. Elias certainly checks all of those boxes.
The 5-foot-8, 205-pound senior running back finished with 3,100 rushing yards and 40 touchdowns this past season for the Crusaders. He helped lead Kapaun to its first state championship game appearance in 36 years and scored 19 touchdowns in five Class 5A playoff games, including 280 rushing yards and three scores against Mill Valley in the finals.
Elias is the vice president of National Honor Society at Kapaun and has volunteered locally as a peer tutor, according to Gatorade’s release. He has also donated his time as a youth football and wrestling coach. In the classroom, Elias maintains a weighted 4.01 GPA.
Elias marks the fourth straight Wichita-area player to win the award, joining Maize quarterback Avery Johnson (2022-23), Derby running back Dylan Edwards (2021-22) and Derby quarterback Lem Wash (2020-21) as recent winners.
This story was originally published January 4, 2024 at 1:01 PM.
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