An Unlikely National Champion: The Story of Flint's Tee Muex

A young Tee Muex never thought he'd be called a track star, as until just a few years ago, basketball and football were his sports calling. Or so he thought.

Track seemed like it didn't fit him – until he tried it. He's since become a high school national champion who has transitioned to being a key sprinter on the Michigan State track team.

Muex, raised in Flint Township, Mich., was always enamored by his dad Terrence Sr.'s ability to play basketball. Wanting to follow in his footsteps, he played basketball throughout his youth and eventually at Carman-Ainsworth High School. He tried track as early as eighth grade, but didn't truly focus on it until his senior year of high school.

"I wanted to play basketball or football, but everybody just happened to have been a little bit better," Muex, who just finished his junior year at MSU, said. "I started to focus on track. I just happened to be good at that."

A wrist injury from playing basketball his junior year also helped Muex to take another look at track. He realized, while he was sidelined, that even though his arm wasn't working – his legs certainly still could.

"I had broken my wrist," Muex said. "I wasn't able to lift weights my whole senior year because I had to focus on trying to get my wrist back together, so I just started using my legs and running. I still wanted to go to college for something – football or basketball, but that messed up my process. So, I had to focus on track."

As his senior year went on, track became the focal point of his life. Sprints were his game, and the 400-meter was his event. His times kept getting better, and more eyes began to set on him. Suddenly, he was being called a "track star" as he walked through the halls and being challenged to races after school. It wasn't long before Muex's name made it's way beyond the walls of his high school and entered the minds of those on the national stage.

In the 2021 MHSAA Outdoor Track & Field finals, Muex ran a 400-meter dash in just 46.52 seconds – a time good enough to not only win the individual state title by nearly a full second, but also to set the record for the fastest-ever recorded time in the state finals.

Just a few weeks later, a state championship already under his belt, it was time to truly compete on a national level. Muex and his dad made the journey to Oregon for the Nike Outdoor Nationals. He'd never done anything like this. He'd only really been taking track seriously for less than a year. As the rest of the national title contenders gathered, he couldn't help but feel a little out of place.

"I didn't really know what I was doing," Muex said. "I was expecting to just run and compete with all the other top athletes. Warming up, seeing the other athletes – I'm thinking they were warming up all extra and hard, and I'm nervous. I think I barely ate that day, too. I was just nervous watching everybody else."

When he reached the starting block, however, the nerves began to subside. He focused. He was just running, just like he had across a football field or a basketball court since he was young.

After the gun sounded, and 30 pairs of feet from across the country blasted towards the finish line, he was the first to cross. It took just 46.13 seconds.

"I was just proud of him, and just shocked that he did so well," Terrence Sr. said. "When he first started running track, it was just something to do so he didn't have to come home from school. The track coach came and told me, you know, 'He's a real special talent, he's just gotta take it seriously.'"

Colleges had already been reaching out to Muex for a while by the time he became a state and national champion. He'd always wanted to play a sport at the collegiate level, but in high school he began to temper his expectations.

"I thought I was just going to be running Division II, or I don't know, just some school," Muex said. "I didn't think I was going to be that good until I started running those times."

Then Michigan State reached out, and he knew he had to go.

It was a difficult adjustment at first. Terrence Sr. was happy that he settled on Michigan State, because he didn't want his son to be too far from home. For Muex, though, it was hard. He went from national champion to college freshman in a few short months.

"During high school I was winning a majority or all my races," Muex said. "[At Michigan State] I realized I wasn't going to win every race because everyone's different. I'm competing with other grown men. In high school, I was the main person, but now I'm up here with all the other top athletes."

In three years at the college level, however, Muex has settled in. He's become a leader of a Michigan State team he never thought he'd be a part of.

"I came in my freshman year looking up to the athletes that were here," Muex said. "We had people like Morgan [Beadlescomb], a lot of top athletes and stuff here. Now I'm a junior, and I've got freshmen and sophomores coming in. Now they're looking up at us, so now it's time to be a leader and step up."

Terrence Sr. has been proud of his son every step of the way. Since coming to college, it's only become easier. In January, Muex was named a PNC Achievers Student-Athlete of the Month by MSU Athletics and PNC Bank in recognition of his studies towards advertising management.

"He's matured at an unbelievable rate to me," Terrence Sr. said. "He's been getting student athletes awards and stuff, and I was like 'Wow'. That was pretty impressive to me – like one of the most impressive things from him."

As Muex begins to look towards his senior year, there are some things he still wants to accomplish. He suffered a hamstring injury last season and is still getting his strength back, but that hasn't deterred him from looking ahead.

"I want to place top three in Big Ten's, and try to make it to nationals, too," Muex said.

His dad thinks he can do it. In fact, he thinks he can do just about anything.

"Hopefully he gets a chance to run pro," Terrence Sr. said. "Hopefully he gets a chance to run until he's about 30 or until he's too old and then he can figure it out from there. As long as he's happy. He's happy running, and I'm just glad he's focusing on that right now."

An Unlikely National Champion: The Story of Flint's Tee Muex

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Tee Muex

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