Bromell Stars On NCAA Championships Opening Day
BU sophomore makes final of 100, 200-meter events.
THE RUNDOWN
EUGENE, Ore. – Baylor track and field sophomore sprinter Trayvon Bromell qualified for the finals in both the 100 and 200-meter events on the first day of competition at the NCAA Outdoor Championships Wednesday at Hayward Field.
The St. Petersburg, Fla., product will have a chance on Friday to become the first Baylor male athlete to earn All-American honors in two individual events at the NCAA Outdoor Championships since Bill Martineson did so in the 100 and 200-yard dashes in 1946 and 1947.
In his quest to defend the NCAA 100-meter title, Bromell started things off by running the second-fastest time in collegiate history, 9.90 (1.7 m/s), to be the top qualifier in the semifinal round of action. He was .08 seconds better than any other competitor in the field and lowered his wind-legal PR from 9.97.
Bromell came back just over an hour later in the 200 meters to win his heat in a personal-best time of 20.03. That mark was also the fastest qualifying time overall and the third fastest in school history. Bromell got out to a solid start, but found himself in fifth-place with 100-meters to go. From that point, he kicked things into another gear to secure the lead with 30 meters to go and cruised to the win.
Outside of Bromell's performances, the Bears had four other entries in action, but did not get any of those athletes through to Friday's finals.
For only the second time in the last 36 years, Baylor's 4x400-meter relay did not advance to the finals of the NCAA Championships. The quartet of Richard Gary, Chris Platt, Brandon Moore and George Caddick ran a 3:06.93 to finish third in their heat and 13th-overall. Moore received the baton in last place and quickly made up ground to put Caddick in fourth going into the final leg. The sophomore anchor leg pushed the pace early on to get BU up to third, but was not able to close the sizable gap for second.
Caddick's day opened with a fifth-place finish in his heat of the 400-meter dash with a time of 46.54. The BU sophomore, running in his first individual event at the national meet, got out to a slow start and was never able to make up much ground.
A personal-best time of 1:48.35 in the 800 meters was not enough to advance Moore to the finals as he finished fifth in his heat and 13th-overall.
In the first race of the day, the 4x100-meter relay of KD Cannon, Bromell, Bryce Grace and Malik Wilson placed sixth in their heat with a time of 39.80. That time was 15th overall on the day as the Bears were appearing in their sixth-straight NCAA Championships.
OTHER NOTABLES
· Bromell's 100-meter time tied his own Baylor school record and was just .01 seconds off the collegiate record of Ngoni Makusha of Florida State, who ran a 9.89 in 2011.
· Bromell has now run five sub-9.95 100-meter times in 2015.
· Bromell's 200-meter time was third fastest in school history, trailing only Michael Johnson's 19.85 and 19.91 from 1990.
· Bromell's 200-meter time was also the fastest in meet history since 2005 and equal to No. 6 in meet history.
· Bromell is one of three athletes two qualify in the 100 and 200-meter events, joining Clemson's Tevin Hester and Florida State's Kendall Williams.
TOP QUOTE #1
"Trayvon had a great day. He just did a super job. You never know what he's going to do when he gets out there. His 200, it looked like he was kind of running pretty easy that first 100, and man he hit a gear coming off that curve and wow, it was impressive. He had a great 100. I thought he executed pretty well. I'm sure he probably thinks he can clean it up a little bit, knowing Trayvon and Coach Ford. But he did a great job getting through. That's what you wanted to do today." - head coach Todd Harbour on Bromell's performances
TOP QUOTE #2
“I was very proud of my time in the 100 meters, but I am trying not to focus on it. Right now it is all about getting to that line first.” – Trayvon Bromell on his 100-meter performance
TOP QUOTE #3
“We got ourselves in a hole early and couldn't dig out of it. Brandon and George ran great legs on the end of it. We just needed more help on the front of it and we didn't get that today.” – Harbour on the 4x400-meter relay
WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor's women's athletes will be in action Thursday at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. BU's first event will be the 3,000-meter steeplechase by Rachel Johnson at 4:38 p.m. (6:38 p.m. CT). Four more athletes, Annie Rhodes, Raena Rhone, Cion Hicks and Olicia Williams will be in action later in the evening.
To stay current on all things Baylor Track, follow the team on Twitter: @BaylorTrack.
COMPLETE BAYLOR RESULTS
Q or q = Advanced to event finals
100 Meters
Men
1. Trayvon Bromell (SO) – 9.90Q (2nd-best in collegiate history, ties school record & personal best)
200 Meters
Men
1. Trayvon Bromell (SO) – 20.03Q (personal best, 3rd-best in school history)
400 Meters
Men
16. George Caddick (SO) – 46.54
800 Meters
Men
13. Brandon Moore (SO) – 1:48.35 (personal best)
4x100-Meter Relay
Men
15. Baylor (KD Cannon, Trayvon Bromell, Bryce Grace, Malik Wilson) – 39.80
4x400-Meter Relay
Men
13. Baylor (Richard Gary, Chris Platt, Brandon Moore and George Caddick) – 3:06.93
