William Byrd's DeShawn Austin was a hidden gem until this weekend where he showed out at the Class 3 State Meet. We don't know if any college has signed him yet but someone is going to get lucky with this one.
Ahead of the state meet Austin was a consistent runner and competitor. He had tallied up two state titles in the 55m Hurdles which is impressive in its own right but nothing compared to what he's done this season and did at states.
This weekend DeShawn won the long jump, won the 110mH, and then went into beast mode in the 300mH. In that race he blazed a 36.74 to shatter the previous state meet record by a full second. His time was so fast we were getting texts about it at the Class 6 state meet.
To put that time in perspective, it is the second fastest time of the last decade and 8th all-time in the state's history.
It is also just .01 seconds slower than Grant Holloway's best time in high school.
Though we like to hyperbolize athletes' meteoric rise as just that, the truth is DeShawn has been putting in the work and building up to this moment for year.
You can consider him a hidden gem but that gem was made like all gems are by pressure over years and years. He is the example coaches would point to for what you can become when you buy in, square up, and leave all out on the track.
Austin can now officially be considered one of the 10 best 300m hurdlers in Virginia state history.
