Trayvon Bromell was named the Gatorade Track Athlete of the Year for the state on Thursday.
Bromell, who recently graduated from Gibbs, is the first athlete from his alma mater to win and is eligible for the national award, which will be announced later this month.
"I had a feeling that I was going to win it," said Bromell, who will enroll at Baylor this fall, "but I didn't really know until I looked at my phone this morning and it was blowing up."
Bromell established himself as one of the nation’s premier sprinters this season, winning conference, district, region and state titles is his signature event, the 100 meters. At the Class 3A region meet, Bromell won the 100 in 10.14 seconds, which was the fastest non-wind-aided time in the nation this season at the time.
Once his high school season ended, Bromell continued to shine. He won the Golden South in 10.27. Three weeks ago, he won the 100 in 9.99 seconds, becoming the first American high school sprinter to run the event in under 10 seconds.
Thursday, Bromell won the 100 in 10.47 seconds at the USA Junior Track and Field Championships in Des Moines, Iowa. This is the third straight meet Bromell has won the event and the second time in as many weeks he has beaten his biggest nemesis, Cameron Burrell of Texas.
More importantly, Bromell's win qualifies him to be selected to compete in the 2013 Pan American Junior Championships in Medellin, Columbia on Aug. 23-25.
But Bromell is unsure whether he will be able to go because he doesn't have his passport yet.
"It's still iffy whether I'll be able to make it," Bromell said. "If not, this would be my last high school meet before going off to college, and I wanted to make it count."