Meet the boy they call 'White Lightning': Incredible Texas high school sprinter, 18, sets unofficial 100-meter dash record with an Olympic-level mark of 9.98 seconds - just 0.4 seconds off Usain Bolt's best

A high school sprinter known as 'White Lightning' has posted the fastest 100-meter dash time of any American under the age of 20.

Matthew Boling, an 18-year-old senior at Strake Jesuit College Prep in Houston, ran the event in just 9.98 seconds at Texas's Region III-6A track and field meet. The time was not only a personal best, but a new high school record for all conditions. 

Unfortunately for Boling, it won't count as the official record because he had a 4.2 mph tailwind at his back, according to Yahoo.

The official 100-meter high school dash record belongs to Trentavis Friday, who recorded a 10-second flat mark in North Carolina in 2014.  

High school sprinter records remarkable 9.98-second 100-meter dash

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Matthew Boling (in front) opened up an early lead and never looked back, recording an unofficial record of 9.98 seconds in the 100-meter dash at a regional meet in Texas

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Weeks earlier, Boling (center) finished first in the 100-meter dash at the Texas' University Interscholastic League (UIL) Class 6A District Area Meet

'It definitely felt good,' Boling told the Houston Chronicle. '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.' 

Boling's 9.98 mark was no fluke.

He was previously clocked at 10.22 seconds earlier in March and in the 200-meter dash, he's posted an impressive time of 20.58 seconds.

For comparison, Jamaica's Usain Bolt is the current world record holder in both the 100- and 200-meter dash, with times of 9.58 seconds and 19.19 seconds, respectively. (Bolt recorded his 100-meter dash record despite a slight 0.9mph headwind) 

Boling plans on attending the University of Georgia in the fall, and then hopes to make it on the U.S. Olympic team ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Until then, Boling can try out some new nicknames.

'Some people call me the bogeyman,' Boling told KHOU-TV. 'I heard some people calling me the horseman. I've heard different stuff.'

Boling's father Mark joked that he would love to take credit for his son's speed, but that would be misleading.

'I would love to be able to claim that it's genetic – but he just has a work ethic that I've never seen from anybody,' Mark Boling said. 

In addition to winning the 100-meter dash, Boling also won the long jump with an impressive mark of 25 feet, 2 inches. 

He now has just under two weeks to prepare for the state finals.