USC's track & field season may be over, but the Trojans are getting faster and faster every day. On Tuesday, incoming freshman sprinter Michael Norman, the country's fastest 200m and 400m prep athlete, received his second consecutive National Gatorade Player of the Year honor, becoming just the 12th person in the history of the award to repeat and the first in men's track & field.
This spring, Norman raced to state titles and records in four events and took home the national title in the 200m with a blazing time of 20.15, the third-fastest time in prep history and the sixth-fastest by any American this year. His season-best 45.51 in the 400m ranks first in the nation among high schoolers, while his season-best 10.27 in the 100m (not considered one of his main events) ranks second. He is the only prep men's sprinter ever to be ranked in the all-time Top 10 of both the 200m and the 400m.
Norman, who will compete at the U.S. Olympic Trials this weekend, is headed to USC this fall where he will look to follow in the footsteps of former Trojan sprinting greats like Bryshon Nellum and Quincy Watts, the latter of whom will be coaching Norman soon.
"Having him as not only a coach but as a mentor is huge for me. He's going to get me to the right place as a track athlete," Norman told USA Today. "Coach Caryl is also so great. I don't know what it is, but she always gets me so fired up to run. It feels like family there."
Norman joins the family officially as a student-athete this fall. Be sure to follow @USC_Track_Field for updates on Norman and the entire track & field team this upcoming season.
