CHICAGO (June 19, 2008) — In its third decade of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in partnership with RISE Magazine, today announced Stephen Michel of Laramie High School as its 2007-08 Gatorade Wyoming Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year. Michel is the third Gatorade Wyoming Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year to be chosen from Laramie High School.

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 Michel as Wyoming’s best high school boys track and field athlete. Michel is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year award to be announced later this month.

The senior sprinter and jumper swept the 100- and 200-meter dash, the long jump and the triple jump at the Class 4A state meet, leading the Plainsmen to a fourth-place finish overall as a team. One of 10 statewide Milward Simpson Athlete of the Year Award finalists and a First Team All-State Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field selection, Michel won the 100 with a time of 10.65 seconds and captured the 200 in 21.39 seconds. He placed first in the long jump with a leap of 23 feet, 8.5 inches and won the triple jump with an effort of 48 feet, 9.5 inches.

Michel has maintained a 4.0 GPA in the classroom. He donates his time as part of multiple community-service initiatives on behalf of his church youth group, and serves as a member of a school organization dedicated to helping students make responsible life decisions.

“Stephen is one of those kids who really leads by example,” said Laramie High Head Coach Gil Bradfield. “He works just as hard in the weight room as he does on the track and you can see the way the other kids follow his lead. He's a true leader and a phenomenal athlete.”

Michel has signed a National Letter of Intent for track and field at the University of Wyoming for this fall.

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 and field. The selection process is administered by RISE Magazine, which works with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.

Michel joins recent Gatorade Wyoming Boys Track and Field Athletes of the Year Brendan Ames (2006-07, Cheyenne Central HS) and two-time winner Bob Hewitt-Gaffney (2005-06 & 2004-05, Campbell County HS) among the state’s list of former award winners.

For more on the Gatorade Player of the Year program, including nomination information, a list of past winners, and the announcement of the Gatorade National Player of the Year, visit gatorade.com/playeroftheyear.

Previous School Winners

1995-96 Joe Dunham - Distance

2001-02 Jermiah Johnson - Sprinter