AUSTIN, Texas (AP) Baylor freshman Trayvon Bromell made a sparkling debut in the 100 meters Saturday at the Texas Relays.
Bromell set a meet record by winning in 10.01 seconds, a victory that came barely 24 hours after he first smashed the old mark with the top time in qualifying.
Two records in two days at one of the premiere track events of the year in the U.S. is a quite a statement from the 18-year-old who was the 2013 Gatorade national boys track athlete of the year in St. Petersburg, Fla.
''I just wanted to get my name out there and let people know I could run with the big dogs, too,'' Bromell said. ''It's business. I want to make this a career.''
Bromell has only been running track full time since his junior year in high school. He had broken both knees in separate injuries in junior high and high school and now he's chasing a potential NCAA championship his first season in college.
He ran the 200 a week ago at a meet at TCU and won in his first outdoors meet. But he saved his much-anticipated debut in the 100 for the Texas Relays in front of a crowd that approached 20,000 at the University of Texas. His qualifying time of 10.02 on Friday broke the meet record of 10.06 set by Texas A&M's Gerald Phiri in 2011 final.
Bromell was in total control of the race Saturday.
Despite a wobbly start, Bromell quickly settled into the lead and cruised to the finish line. His 10.01 was by far the fastest time in the world this year and tied the world junior record. Clemson's Reggie Lewis was second at 10.15.
Bromell also got a bit lucky. On a day when many races were tagged as wind-aided, the northerly breeze died down just in time for Bromell's race to be wind legal.
''To come out and run that fast this early is very, very impressive,'' Baylor coach Todd Harbour said. ''I expected him to run fast down here, because you always see great times at the Texas Relays, but to open up with that kind of effort is huge. Who knows what is to come, but today was a great place to start.''
Texas' Morolake Akinosun won the women's 100 in a wind-aided 11.10. She also ran the first leg as the Texas women won the 800 relay in 1:31.58.
The Texas A&M men won the 800 relay for the third consecutive year, with a world-leading 1:20.78, matching the winning time they ran a year ago. The Aggies' Wayne Davis II also won the men's 110 hurdles in a wind-aided 13:45. The Florida men set a Texas Relays record in the 400 relay, winning in 38.29.
Mississippi's Ricky Robertson won the men's high jump at 7 feet, 6 inches. Robertson pushed for 7-8, but hit the bar on all three attempts.
Two national high school records fell Saturday.
St. Thomas Aquinas High School of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., broke a 10-year-old mark in 800-relay with a time of 1:33.47. Desiree Freier of Northwest High School in Justin, Texas, set a girl's pole vault record of 14-3 1/4.
