Brown on the Fast Track to Success

David Brown, a freshman middle distance runner at UMass Lowell, has had a remarkable collegiate experience thus far, and as he gears up for the NCAA meet in New Mexico this weekend, he has a chance to make his first college level D-II season even more impressive.

Brown, a graduate in 2009, ran for the Lions for five seasons and holds the school record in the 600 meter dash with a time 1:21.7.

Although Brown joined the track team just for fun, it wasn’t long until the coaching staff realized just how much potential he had.

“I started my sophomore year because I was bored. I did football and basketball, but in the spring when I came home from school, I was bored, so I wanted to do something.  I didn’t like lacrosse or baseball so I thought, ‘well, I’m pretty fast, I’ll just do track,’” said Brown.

In his first season of running, Brown and three teammates advanced to the all state meet in the 4 x 400 meter relay, a noteworthy accomplishment.

As his high school career continued, Brown progressively got better, until he won both MVCs and states in the 600 his senior year, and placed second in all states. He finished his high school running career among the most decorated runners in the league at the time.

Brown has only continued to improve since joining the UMass Lowell team this fall. He was named Northeast 10 Conference Men’s Rookie of the Week on four different occasions this winter. Additionally, he was awarded the NE10 Rookie of the Year after his impressive 800 meter win at the conference meet in February.

Although he focuses on the 800 in college, Brown currently holds the team’s season best times in several different events. He has clocked the fastest times of the indoor 2010-11 season in the 500(1:04.49), 600(1:21.75), 800(1:52.57), and 1000(2:30.37) meter races.

“David has had about as good a year as we could of hoped. He is an excellent racer and is as tough as anyone on the team in a race,” said UMass Lowell Head Coach Gary Gardner.

Gardner attributes Brown’s success to his work ethic, and dedication to the sport.

“Dave did a ton of work over the summer and has done everything we have asked of him,” said Gardner.

Brown explained that the training level in college is drastically different from what he was used to doing in high school.

“It’s a lot more. I did summer running, and I never ran in the summer before. I ran in the fall, and I’ve never run in the fall before. Usually I didn’t start running until December first in high school. From spring to the first day of winter track, I didn’t do any running besides in football. This summer I had to do all kinds of running,” said Brown.

From the looks of Brown’s races this winter, the work in the fall and summer certainly paid off.

“(My races have been) as good as I could want them to be,” said Brown.  “I won NE10s and I qualified for nationals in the open 800, and the DMR; I don’t think I could really ask for that much more.”

This evening, Brown will board a plane, along with a handful of other UML athletes and coaches, to Albuquerque, New Mexico for the Division II NCAA Championship meet. Brown will compete in the open 800 meter race, and run the 800 leg in the Distance Medley Relay along with teammates Eric McDonald, Danny Wang, and Craig Bennett.

“At the NCAA, if the DMR places in the top eight, and he makes the finals of the 800, that would be perfect. If not it will be a great learning experience for the future,” said Gardner.

Brown is ranked 12^th in DII in the 800, and is the top freshman athlete on the list. He said that he would be happy if he could place in the top eight at the national meet, and earn All American honors.

Gardner and Brown both have high hopes for his future growth on the track team at Lowell.

“Down the road we hope to get Dave in the low 1:51 range outdoors then evaluate where to go from there after the outdoor season,” said Gardner.

“Outdoors I’d like to run 1:51 in the open 800, and hopefully make it to nationals. Before I graduate, I’d like to break 1:50,” said Brown.

Brown said being on the track team has impacted his college experience in a positive way.

“I get to travel, I would have never gotten to go to New Mexico if it wasn’t for track, and I have made lots of friends. It also helps me do well in school," he said.

Brown also enjoys working with the coaching staff at Lowell.

 “I love them, each and every one of them,” said Brown of his coaches. “They are all awesome.”