GATORADE® NATIONAL BOYS TRACK & FIELD ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Michael Norman

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Jason Belenke (312-729-3631)

GATORADE® NATIONAL BOYS TRACK & FIELD ATHLETE OF THE YEAR:

MICHAEL NORMAN

Standout Surprised with Elite Honor

Murrieta, Calif. (June 30, 2015) – In its 30th 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.

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“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 studentathletes

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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ALL-TIME GATORADE NATIONAL BOYS TRACK & FIELD ATHLETES OF THE YEAR

YEAR NAME HIGH SCHOOL STATUS

2014-15 Michael Norman Vista Murrieta High School, Murrieta, CA High School Junior

2013-14

2012-13

2011-12

2010-11

2009-10

2008-09

2007-08

Trentavis Friday

Trayvon Bromell

Abraham Hall

Gunnar Nixon

Sam Crouser

Curtis Beach

German Fernandez

Cherryville High School, Cherryville, NC

Gibbs High School, St. Petersburg, FL

South Grand Prairie, Grand Prairie, TX

Santa Fe High, Edmond, OK

Gresham, Gresham, OR

Albuquerque Academy, Albuquerque, NM

Riverbank, Riverbank, CA

Florida State University

Baylor University

Army

USA Track & Field

Oregon

Duke University

Oklahoma State University Grad.

2006-07 Bryshon Nellum Long Beach Poly, Long Beach, CA USA Track & Field

2005-06 David Klech California, San Ramon, CA USA Track & Field

2004-05 Ryan Whiting Central Dauphin, Harrisburg, PA USA Track & Field

2003-04 Jason Richardson Cedar Hill, Cedar Hill, TX Nike

2002-03 Kerron Clement La Porte, La Porte TX USA Track & Field/Nike

2001-02 Brendan Christian Reagan, Austin, TX Antigua & Barbuda Nat’l

2000-01 Alan Webb South Lakes, Reston, VA Nike

1999-00 Donald Sage, Jr. York, Elmhurst, IL Stanford Univ. Grad.

1998-99 Jacob Freeman Bishop Hendricken, RI Manhattan College Grad.

1997-98 Jon Stevens Mission San Jose, Fremont, CA Stanford Univ. Grad.

1996-97 Sharif Karie West Springfield, Springfield, VA Univ. of Arkansas Grad.

1995-96 Michael Granville Bell Gardens, Bell Gardens, CA UCLA Grad.

1994-95 Michael Stember Jesuit, Carmichael, CA Stanford Univ. Grad.

1993-94 Andre Scott Seminole, Sanford, FL S. Illinois Coach

1992-93 Charles Mitchell Waco High, Waco, TX Mississippi State Univ. Grad.

1991-92 Sheddric Fields South Oak Cliff, Dallas, TX Univ. of Houston Grad.

1990-91 Bryan Bronson Jasper, Jasper, TX Rice Univ. Grad.

1989-90 Brent Noon Fallbrook, Fallbrook, CA Univ. of Georgia Grad.

1988-89 Dion Bentley Penn Hills, Pittsburgh, PA Univ. of Florida Grad.

1987-88 Art Skipper, Jr. Sandy, Sandy, OR Deceased

1986-87 Kamy Keshmiri Reno, Reno, NV Univ. of Nevada Grad.

1985-86 Eric Mastalir Jesuit, Carmichael, CA Vice Pres. San Jose Sharks

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