In the 1980s North Dakota was blessed with one of the most prolific sprinters to ever run in this state. His times still hold records all over the area, and he even ended up running against some of the country's fastest in the Olympic Trials. Norm McGee ran for the University of North Dakota from 1985-1989, and played football during his time as well. I've heard that the reason a man with his sprinting talent came to DII UND because there he could play football and run track, whereas at DI Wisconsin he would not be allowed to play football.
Norm McGee originally came from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, attending Milwaukee West High School. How he ran in high school is difficult to come by, but in 1984 he ran 10.57 in the 100m, which for 19 years stood as the sole record for the 100m in the state of Wisconsin, and then in 2004 a man by the name of Demi Omole from Dominican also ran 10.57, so McGee still holds a share of the record for fastest 100m in the history of high school track and field in Wisconsin. Naturally this kind of talent would warrant major universities to choose from, but because he also was a good football player (predominantly because of his speed), he choose to go to the University of North Dakota upon graduating high school.
During his time at UND, McGee roped up an impressive amount of feats. While playing football in 1984 and 1986-1988, he ran track 1985-1989. To create a quick summary of all his accomplishments, here's a direct quote from the UND Sports website:
"It was on the track where he truly shone, winning 13 All-American honors and five NCAA Division II sprint titles. In 1989 he was the UND male athlete of the year. During his indoor career, McGee was a five-time All-American winning 55-meter national championship in 1987 and 1988. He was a four-time 55-meter NCC champion - where he holds the NCC record (6.20,1988) and was a two-time champion in the 300 meters. For his outdoor career he was an eight-time All-American, winning national championships in the 100 meters in 1978, 1988 and 1989. At the NCC Championships he was a four-time 100-meter champion and three-time 200-meter champion. He was also a three-time member of a NCC-champion 1600-meter relay team. His 10.22 mark in the 100 meters (1989) stood in the NCC record book. He also held six individual UND records and is a member of four-record holding relay teams."
When McGree won his three national titles, his times were (in order): 10.46, 10.20w, and 10.34 (the 'w' represents wind-aided). His now-retired NCC records are in the indoor 55-meter dash (6.20), and in outdoor 100m (10.22). He has the outdoor track record at MSUM (Minnesota State University Moorhead) in the 200m at 20.94. He also holds the indoor facility record at the University of Milwaukee in the 55 meters with a time of 6.34. His 10.20 in the 100m is- through 2013- still the 15th fastest DII 100m ever ran.
That's pretty impressive.
In 1988 McGee ran in the USA Championships in the 100 and finished 8th in the prelims with a time of 10.27, and then 6th in the finals with a time of 10.17. The Olympic trials qualifying time was 10.3 In the 1988 Olympic Trials he ran the 100m, finishing 5th in the first head with a time a 10.25.
In 1989 he graduated with a degree in recreation and youth leadership from UND, and then was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers with pick 28 in the 11th round. He didn't last long in the NFL though, because even though he had superb speed, he didn't have the catching ability to be an NFL wide receiver. In 1997 he was inducted into theh NCAA DII Track and Field Hall of Fame, and two years later in 1999 was inducted into the Wisconsin Track and Field Hall of Fame. He now serves as the Director of Sports, Fitness, and Recreation with the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Greater Milwaukee Area. It's truly amazing what he was able to accomplish, and now he is remembered as one of the fastest sprinters to ever run in this state. I can just imagine the look on people's faces at the Olympic Trials when they saw a sprinter listed as being from the University Of North Dakota. His records from the 80s still stand today, 25 years later, a testament to how incredible it was at the time.
Links I used to assist me:
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1817&dat=19880716&id=ozcdAAAAIBAJ&sjid=yaUEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6709,3279222
https://www.wiaawi.org/Portals/0/PDF/Results/Track/State_Records/brecords.pdf
http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/wiml/sports/m-track/auto_pdf/2013-14/misc_non_event/2014-indoor-records-m.pdf
http://www.49erswebzone.com/alltimedraft/decade/1980/
http://www.undsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=13500&ATCLID=750113
http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/track_outdoor_champs_records/2010-11/d2_motf.pdf
http://www.ustfccca.org/assets/d2_men_alltime_top10.pdf
http://m.delphiforums.com/hobsrg/messages/4651/17
http://www.msumdragons.com/sports/2008/10/9/MTRACK_1009080854.aspx?path=track
http://northcentral.prestosports.com/Record_Book/08_Updates/08_MTF.pdf
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