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McDowell is the guy who gets to training early and leaves late. If someone is falling behind on the bike, he’ll drop off and pull them back to the group. At a race, he’s the one who’ll finish first, then go back and cheer from the sidelines. He’ll help someone set up their bike trainer, fix a flat, help little kids pump up their tires. He’ll pump you up too, when you’re having a bad day or a tough workout.


“Kevin is such a positive influence — on all of us,” said teammate Jenn Howland.


Dickson sees McDowell as a role model to the budding star.


“Kevin’s beaten him on a number of occasions,” Dickson said. “Kevin…has been a good influence on Lukas. If you’re as talented as Lukas is and as successful as Lukas is, in order to stay grounded you kind of have to have a good buddy who is grounded.”


Verzbicas, who moved to the U.S. from Lithuania when he was 9, enjoys his social life while McDowell is the quietly confident leader.


“Lukas may have a swagger and a strong sense of confidence, but, a. he backs it up; and, b. he is also a humble person,” said Andy Schmitz, USA Triathlon’s High Performance senior manager. “Lukas is a very genuine person, a true student of the sport.”


With worlds set for Sept. 10, Verzbicas had to get Oregon to sign off on the unusual request from a prized recruit wanting to train and race in a triathlon before showing up for fall cross country practice.


Verzbicas has not competed in a triathlon since last year’s worlds. On successive June weekends this year, he demonstrated what can happen when he’s not multi-tasking in multisports: he broke the 2-mile high school record, posting a time of 8:29.46 while racing in an elite international field at the Prefontaine Classic. Then he became just the fifth schoolboy in U.S. history to break 4 minutes in the mile, joining a list that includes Alan Webb, Jim Ryun and Marty Liquori.


After his 3:59.71 mile in rainy conditions on June 11, Verzbicas returned full-time to triathlon for the summer, similar to last year’s return after a track-intensive spring. His fourth place at the 2010 junior worlds in Budapest came as he was about to catch the leaders in the last couple hundred meters. But Verzbicas, who finished 21 seconds off gold, had to wait out a 15-second penalty after failing to place his swim gear in a designated area.


Not so fast.


“When you think about the pressure he’s under and the commitment he made to run at Oregon, it’s a real big decision,” Dickson said. “Once you get through the emotion of it, you have to do the work…He’ll be challenged. But that’s what Lukas does, he takes on challenges.”


While Verzbicas was attracting the national spotlight this spring, his shaggy mop and pull-away speed distinguishing him, McDowell was losing his hair.


Every other week starting in mid-March, he’d go to chemotherapy treatment, sitting for two hours as an IV pumped cancer-killing poison into his body.


His parents, Mark and Traci, took Kevin to his first treatment, but Kevin’s friends have since taken over, sitting and chatting with him for two hours every other Monday.


“We keep each other occupied…we kind of distract Kevin,” said Howland. “We reminisce about the past, how much fun we’ve had, about future workouts.”


Three months in, the pattern seemed set. Chemo on Monday, followed by fatigue that grew progressively worse Tuesday and Wednesday, improvement starting Thursday.


On Friday, McDowell would drag himself to practice, where he’d sit on the pool deck, or on the side of the track or road and cheer on his teammates as they train.


He didn’t stop there. By Monday, McDowell could continue his own training, at lower intensity, managing 10-15 hours a week through early June.


In late May, he ripped through a 4:27 mile run and actually beat Verzbicas in the pool in one workout. During chemo. Chemo’s off week it turns out, has proven to be McDowell’s lifeline.


Even now, Traci calls Kevin lucky. Lucky to have a nurse for a mom. Coming off one of the best races of his life in March, where he placed 10th overall at the USA Triathlon Elite Race Series event in Florida, she and Kevin were chatting. He had his shirt off and, for a brief moment, the bedroom light illuminated an egg-sized patch of thickening skin near his collarbone. Easy to miss.


“I’m so thankful I saw it that night,” said Traci, “because he wasn’t having any symptoms. No weight loss, itching, night sweats.”


Lucky to have supporters, including those from rival triathlon clubs, turn the tables on a guy who always seemed to be helping others. Now they’re helping him. They raised $8,500 to send Kevin to Beijing where, if he’s well enough, he’ll cheer on Verzbicas in person.


They could race each other again, possibly on the sport’s biggest stage — the 2016 Olympics. Verzbicas hasn’t ruled out a return to triathlon after his college track career is over.


McDowell has the 2016 Games in sight, too. Victor Sailer


“The guy’s not planning on just recovering. He’s got big plans,” Dickson said. “With some help and luck, he’ll get there.”


 


While Verzbicas, who earlier this summer became the fifth high-schooler to break 4 minutes in the mile, will go to Oregon in the fall to run, he hasn’t ruled out triathlon in the future.


54 USA TRIATHLON SUMMER 2011

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