MURRIETA, Calif., June 28, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- In its 31st 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 2015-16 Gatorade National Boys Track and 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 track, distinguishes Norman as the nation's best high school boys track and field athlete. A national advisory panel comprised of sport-specific experts and sports journalists helped select Norman from nearly 580,000 high school boys track and field athletes nationwide. He 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.

Scheduled to participate in 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials at the time of his selection, Norman won the national title in the 200-meter dash at the USATF Junior Outdoor Championships, breaking the tape in a 2016 World U-20 No. 1 time of 20.15 seconds. The clocking ranks as the third-fastest in U.S. prep history. His season-best 45.51 in the 400 ranks as the nation's No. 1 time among prep competitors and is the World No. 12 among U-20 sprinters in 2016.

The returning Gatorade National Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year captured two individual titles and anchored a pair of first-place relays at the CIF state meet this spring, leading the Broncos to the team title. He ran a personal best in the 100-meter dash this season as well, clocking a 10.27, which is the nation's No. 6 wind-legal time in 2016. His career-best 45.19 in the 400 is the seventh-best high school time all-time. At the CIF State Championship Finals, Norman won the 200 in 20.42 seconds and the 400 in 45.77, while also leading the 4x100 and 4x400 relays to victory.

Norman has maintained a 3.61 GPA in the classroom. A member of his school's Do Good Things community service club, he has volunteered on behalf of the Special Olympics, St. Martha's Food and Pantry for the needy and the Temecula Time Machine track club's youth program. He has also donated his time as part of the Buchanan Elementary School Fall Festival, the Vista Murrieta Shoe Drive and the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure to benefit cancer research.

"Norman has PR'd this year in both the 100 and the 200, with his cumulative 100/200/400 times adding up to the greatest range for any dasher in prep history," said Rich Gonzalez of Track & Field News. "His 200 time against a good headwind a month ago at the time was the second-fastest time in the world against a headwind in 2016 and his legal 10.27 performance in only his second true 100 race of the season is stunning."

Norman has signed a National Letter of Intent to compete in track and field on scholarship at the University of Southern California this fall.

"Michael is an exceptional student-athlete who has earned recognition as the nation's best high school boys track and field athlete while also excelling in the classroom and making a difference in his community," said Gatorade Chief Marketing Officer Morgan Flatley. "Michael's statistics on the track speak for themselves, but even more impressive is the impact he has had on his teammates and the example he sets for younger student-athletes. Michael represents everything we look to celebrate in a Gatorade Player of the Year recipient."

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:

• Two-time Super Bowl Champion Peyton Manning
• 2015 NBA first overall pick Karl-Anthony Towns
• Three-time WNBA champion Maya Moore
• Four-time track & field gold medalist Allyson Felix
• Silver Medalist and Pro Beach Volleyball Player April Ross
• Three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw

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 website 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