“Chest out, chin up.”

Those four words are what senior hurdler Kendrick Smallwood repeats to himself as he steps to the starting line.

“On your marks … ” spikes dig into the starting block. “Set … ” heart pumping, waiting for the sound of the gun. “Boom!”

While Smallwood exudes confidence right out of the block, he’s long dealt with a barrier.

He is one of the shorter hurdlers competing in the NCAA, standing at 5-foot-7. Through adversity, he’s learned that this literal hurdle is something he can train himself out of, especially mentally.

“If you walk to the line like you don’t belong, it’s gonna show,” Smallwood said. “And I refuse to let anybody think that I don’t belong.”

His mentality has been forged over years of proving people wrong. His teammate and roommate, Kody Blackwood, who competed against Smallwood in high school, has watched his mindset shift and harden into what it is today.

“He’s always been overlooked due to his height,” Blackwood said. “At this point, he kind of just rubs it off like a chip on his shoulder. … His height really does not bother him anymore. It’s more so other people’s perception of what a hurdler should look like.”

Smallwood refuses to let that perception slow him down.

This indoor season, he broke the Texas program record in the 60-meter hurdles three times, including a 7.46-second run at the Southeastern Conference Championships that had him placed third in the NCAA, and punched his ticket to the indoor national championships for the first time in his college career.

“It’s a blessing,” Smallwood said. “I’ve always been in contention of making the NCAA Indoor Championships, but I’ve always just been barely short of making the list.”

However, the road here wasn’t always straightforward — after tearing his abductor in 2024, Smallwood thought his hurdling career was finished. Defying odds, he came back stronger in 2025 and hopes to continue to stay healthy this season.

“I can’t do (anything) but give all the glory to God to even allow me to hurdle,” Smallwood said.

With the indoor season behind him, Smallwood’s focus has shifted to the outdoor 110-meter hurdles. His current time of 13.16 seconds has him ranked first in the nation, which puts a national championship within reach that, up to this point, has always been just one step away. Smallwood wants it badly, no matter how much of an uphill climb it is.

“When it’s a tight race … it comes (down) to who wants it more,” Smallwood said. “I’m a very competitive person. I love a challenge.”

After everything he’s been through — the doubt, the injury, falling seconds short of a championship — wanting it more is not in question for Smallwood. But even more, he wants to establish a long-lasting legacy in the program.

“(I want) the University of Texas track and field to remember me,” Smallwood said. “A 5-foot-7 hurdler who got the job done, despite all the hardships … and all the naysayers who didn’t believe.”

The doubters, it seems, have just added fuel to the fire of his mentality.

“A lot of people do forget that I’m not supposed to do what I do, because of what I’ve been through, but I don’t allow it to affect me,” he said. “Don’t ever doubt yourself in your abilities. … Do what’s necessary to get it done, no matter what it takes.”

Chest out, chin up.