Division I bound

When Stevie McDowell began looking for a university to attend after her senior year at Colony High School she had specific criteria -- an NCAA Division I institution where she can compete in track and field, immediately.

Montana-State Bozeman met her criteria.

McDowell, a sprinter with multiple Region III individual titles, signed a National Letter of Intent last week to join the Bobcat track and field squad next season.

The Bobcat track coaching staff lured McDowell with the idea of competing at the top level in collegiate sports right away, and hooked the Colony sprinter with a substantial scholarship package. McDowell said Montana State will cover 70 percent of her costs and she is only responsible for about $5,000 of the $19,000 per year total costs. McDowell said she has to run certain times in the events she competes in -- primarily the 100- and- 200-meter -- but the minimum times are numbers she already beats. She also has the potential to increase the value of her scholarship package with improvements in her times.

McDowell said scholarships, location, education and the ability to run at the varsity level during her freshman season all played a part in her decision to make Montana her next home.

"It reminded me more of home than the other schools," McDowell said.

McDowell said during her visit to Bozeman she discovered the area provided a low-key atmosphere similar to that of the Mat-Su region.

During the recruiting process, when McDowell was considering such Division I programs such as Washington State, Eastern Washington and Idaho State, Colony track coach Randy Magner contacted the coaching staff at Montana State. The Bobcat coaches were aggressively looking for sprinters to fill holes on a team decimated by graduation and were immediately impressed with what McDowell had to offer.

"They said I had really good times, for being from Alaska," McDowell said.

McDowell, a two-time defending Region III champion in both the 100 and 200, believes she can prosper with the opportunity to train at the Division I level with the use of Montana State's facilities.

McDowell plans to study business while at MSU. Eventually she said her plan is to specialize in corporate real estate and return to the booming center of Alaska, the Mat-Su region.