Boys track and field: McDowell lets loose to win state hurdles title

AUSTIN Regardless of what the scoreboard was going to say, Ryan McDowell wasn't about to leave his body with an ounce of effort.

So as the Permian High School senior crossed the finish line in an incredibly tight finish of the Class 5A boys 110-meter hurdles, his momentum was so great that he had to somersault in mid-air to keep from face-planting on the Mike A. Myers Stadium track.

A yell from deep inside his belly followed and all there was left to do was wait.

McDowell's first glance at the scoreboard brought joy - a personal-best time of 13.98 seconds that was listed as the first-place finisher.

No other times were posted, though, and the next 90 or so seconds were excruciating.

"I was waiting the whole time," McDowell said. "I saw my name was up there first and I was just waiting for somebody else's name to pop up there and bump mine down, but it didn't happen. That was just a big sigh of relief."

Indeed, McDowell was the Class 5A state champion in an event that has been both his passion and tormentor.

Being the younger brother of Jon McDowell - a two-time bronze medalist for Permian in 2002 and 2003, an NCAA All-American for the University of Texas-Arlington in 2007 and now running professionally - of course brought its pressure.

A season-ending injury as a sophomore and a fall at the regional meet as a junior added some woe. Then came an ankle injury this season that still was a pain during the District 2-5A Championships in mid-April.

"Definitely he's a perfect example of just sticking with it and persevering through the hard times," Permian boys head coach Jeep Shanks said. "He never lost faith, never got down and depressed. He knew things were going to work out if he just kept working hard and everything just fell into place."

Perhaps the confidence to compete at the level McDowell needed against the best in the state was gained two weekends ago when he won the Region I-5A title in 14.12 seconds, which was his best time of his career.

Until Saturday.

McDowell knew he'd have to break 14 seconds to have a shot at the title, and his 13.98 was just faster than Dallas Skyline's Timothy Young (14.00) while Tyler Lee's Keyunta Hayes (14.07) wasn't far behind.

"I'm shocked right now," McDowell said. "When I came across the line I thought I got third and I was livid, so really it hasn't sunk in yet. I can't believe it right now, but I knew I had to lay out there so I just went for it. I didn't come all this way to get third."

McDowell is the first gold medalist for Permian's boys program since Roy Williams won the long jump in 2000 before embarking on his college and professional football career.

The future is still a little uncertain for McDowell in that he hasn't officially picked a college yet, but there's no doubt after winning a Class 5A 110 hurdles state title that McDowell wants to continue his career in track and field.

"I kept my cool and didn't really get nervous," McDowell said. "I just had to stay calm and run my own race regardless of how fast everyone else was going. I just had to do what I needed to do to win."

That's exactly what happened for Ryan McDowell, whether or not he could believe it the first time he laid his eyes upon the final result.