Usain Bolt
Matthew Boling's 9.98-second run Saturday would have got him through to the 100-meter finals at the 2016 Olympics. In this picture, Usain Bolt crosses the line first to win his third Olympic 100-meter gold. Getty Images

Texas teenager Matthew Boling had the attention of the nation on Saturday and for many days after, following his record-breaking run at the Class 6A Region III track-and-field event at the Challenger Colombia Stadium. The Strake Jesuit senior nicknamed “White Lightning” set the fastest time recorded in a 100-meter race in high school history by finishing in 9.98 seconds.

The 18-year-old was the first person to break the 10-second barrier since 2013 when Florida’s Trayvon Bromell clocked a 9.99 seconds, according to MileSplit, but his time will not count as a national record owing to the 4.2 mph tailwind that aided him during the race. But it will go down as a high school record in “all conditions” which is still a pretty phenomenal feat for Boling.

"It definitely felt good," Boling told the Houston Chronicle after his run. "My block start was pretty good and right out of the gate I knew it was going to be fast, so I decided to turn it up a little bit and ran my best. I was really happy with the time."

The national record currently stands at a flat 10 seconds without wind assistance, which was set by Trentavis Friday in 2014. Boling will now compete in the state high school championships in Austin later in May.

Boling’s time on Saturday was so impressive that the 9.98 seconds would have got him into in the finals of the 100 meter finals at the Rio 2016 Olympics. And the time he set would have seen him finish in seventh place, ahead of France’s Jimmy Vicaut and United States’ former sub-10 second high school record holder Bromell.

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