Gatorade® National Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year: Michael Norman

MURRIETA, Calif., June 30, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- In its 30^th year of honoring the nation's best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with USA TODAY High School Sports, today announced Michael Norman of Vista Murrieta High School (Murrieta, Calif.) as its 2014-15 Gatorade National Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year. 

The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Norman as the nation's best high school boys track & field athlete. A national advisory panel comprised of sport-specific experts and sports journalists helped select Norman from more than 580,000 high school boys track & field athletes nationwide. Norman is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade Male High School Athlete of the Year award, to be presented at a special ceremony prior to The ESPY Awards in July.

The 6-foot, 160-pound junior sprinter won the 200-meter dash with a state-record time of 20.30 seconds and the 400 in a state-record 45.19 at the state meet this past season, clocking the nation's No. 1 times among prep competitors in 2015 at the time of his selection. Norman's 400-meter finish marked the fastest time ever recorded in the event at a meet sanctioned by the National Federation of State High School Associations, and both sprints ranked among the 10 best performances in U.S. prep history. The Press Enterprise's returning All-Area Boys Track Athlete of the Year, he also anchored the third-place 4x400-meter relay quartet that crossed the line in 3:14.81 at the state meet, helping to clinch a state team title for the Broncos. His contributions to Vista Murrieta's 4x100, 4x200 and 4x400 relays keyed top-six performances nationally in each event this season.

Norman has maintained a 3.41 GPA in the classroom. In addition to donating his time as a youth track instructor, he is a member of his school's community assistance club and has volunteered locally in shoe and canned food drives for the needy. He has also donated his time on behalf of the Special Olympics, the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure and Buchanan Elementary School's annual fall festival.

"There's a quality about Michael Norman that all of the great ones have: He makes it look effortless," says Doug Binder, Dyestat Editor-in-Chief. "His sprint double at the CIF Championships—45.19 for 400 meters and 20.30 for 200—elevated him to a very rare category in high school history. Knowing that he's just going to keep maturing and progressing makes you want to pay attention to whatever race he enters next."

Norman will begin his senior year of high school this fall.

"Michael embodies everything we look for in a Gatorade Player of the Year recipient," said Gatorade Chief Marketing Officer Morgan Flatley. "In addition to being one of the best high school track & field athletes in the country, Michael has excelled in the classroom and been a positive influence in his community. He is a role model for younger student-athletes to look up to and we are excited to see all the things he will accomplish in the future."

The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. The selection process is administered by the Gatorade high school sports leadership team in partnership with USA TODAY High School Sports, which work with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.

Former notable Gatorade National Players of the Year include:

• Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Peyton Manning
• WNBA all-time leading scorer and rebounder Lisa Leslie
• NFL all-time leading rusher Emmitt Smith
• Three-time beach volleyball gold medalist Kerri Walsh
• Four-time track & field gold medalist Allyson Felix

For more information on the Gatorade Player of the Year program, including nomination information, a complete list of former winners, and future announcement dates, visit the Gatorade Player of the Year Web site at http://www.gatorade.com/poy, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GatoradePOY or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Gatorade.

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SOURCE The Gatorade Company

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