With fierce competition surrounding him, senior track star Owen Langdon stood out in the loaded Texas 6A state track meet.
Langdon competed in both the 300m and 110m hurdles. Each event contained 11 other of the fastest competitors from regions across the state.
“I did okay in the 110 and really well in the 300,” Langdon said. “I finished in third place in the 300 running a 36.85, which was pretty good for me and I got 6th in the 110 running a 14.1.”
Along with being a standout on the track, Langdon is a dual sport athlete competing as a top wide receiver during the football season.
“Fortunately football and track don’t really overlap at all,” Langdon said. “I think both sports help the other one out, making it a good option for me.”
Langdon began running hurdles in 8th grade, where he has stuck with that event ever since.
“For hurdles, the top four advance to the area, then the top four in the area make it to regionals, where the top two from each region make it to state,” Langdon said. “Making it to state was a really cool accomplishment by itself because of how hard it is. Placing third in the state was definitely my favorite memory from the whole season and I was really happy with how I performed.”
Langdon has had an interesting path to collegiate track. Unlike a lot of other top athletes in the state, Langdon had a much later recruitment window, where he experienced a lot of college interest just during his senior tenure.
“I have not committed anywhere yet, but I do hope to run in college,” Langdon said. “I have been talking to a lot of different schools right now, the main ones being Colorado State, Texas Tech, UTSA and TCU.”
Coach Brandon Pittman has been the track coach for Langdon for the last four years. He has coached at Bowie for nearly 25 years as both the track coach and the football coach for the ‘Dawgs.
“Owen’s ability has always been there,” Pittman said. “He is one of the best track athletes we have had at Bowie, he always shows dedication to the sport and I do my best to stay out of his way and let him thrive by just being the athlete that he is.”
Pittman credits Langdon’s success due to his consistency and his ability to take care of his body all year round. After struggling with time off in year’s past, Langdon showed up to nearly every practice this year while taking more time in recovery to reach new levels.
“He works all year both during school and during the summer,” Pittman said. “He takes his recovery very seriously which allows him to train and always get faster. He did a really good job this year showing up and pushing himself hard while also staying healthy and taking his stretching and post run recovery seriously. He has really leveled up this year.”
Although Pittman has not directly been in contact with the college coaches, he believes Langdon has a skill set that college coaches will love.
“I believe that Owen will translate very well to collegiate track,” Pittman said. “He is a taller hurdler, and the hurdles to get taller in college, which makes some other athletes struggle. I know that won’t be a problem for Langdon. I know with his ability, the sky’s the limit for him.”
