In the Gibbs’ gymnasium lobby Monday afternoon, Trayvon Bromell, who is considered one of the nation's top sprinters, ended a year-long recruiting process by signing his letter of intent to run track at Baylor.
Surrounded by family, coaches and friends, Bromell sat at a table adorned with trophies and medals that he won throughout his career as a Gladiator. On one corner of the table were his trademark gold running shoes. Bromell dressed in gold shorts, a white Baylor polo shirt.
''It's a great fit,'' he said. “I’ve been excited for this day for a while. I already had my hat and shirt ordered and shipped to me. I was ready.”
Bromell started to get noticed last season when he finished second in the 100 and fourth in the 200 at the Class 3A state meet. He currently has the nation’s ninth-fastest time in the 100 (10.42 seconds) and sixth-fastest time in the 200 (21.07) according to MileSplit. Those rankings include wind-aided times, which Bromell’s aren’t.
He said he had offers from at least 10 schools, including Clemson and Texas A&M. Baylor moved up to the top of his list after he took his official visit to the school in January.
The Bears’ track program has produced three Olympic gold medalists: Michael Johnson, Jeremy Wariner and Darold Williamson. Baylor also had graduates take gold in the 400 in three straight Olympics (Johnson in 1996 and 2000, and Wariner in ’04).
But Bromell said he didn’t pick the school because of its penchant for turning out world-class runners.
“I really didn’t know about the Olympic athletes until I took my visit,” Bromell said. “I really liked the school because it was strong academically. And the coaches stayed with me through the process, even while I was getting a high enough score on the ACT to go there. It felt like family there."
Bromell said he will run the 100 and 200 at Baylor.
“I’ll see if I can run the 400, too, because that’s what the school is known for,” Bromell said. “I’ll try to see if I’m fast enough to be on their 4x100 team, as well. Hopefully, one day I can be up there with all the greats that have run there.”