Sophomore Tyler Brown has had a phenomenal season for the track and field team, leading him to be named the May Player of the Moment. Brown runs the 100 and 200-meter races as well as the 4×100 relay, and he competes in the long jump.
Brown has been jumping 21’6”, running 11.7 seconds in the 100, and running 22.7 in the 200. He attributes a large part of his success to his father, who ran track and field at UConn. When talking about his dad’s influence, Brown said he’s always been a role model to him. “He always makes sure I’m around the right people,” he said, “people who have knowledge of the sport and can help further my knowledge of the sport, which will make me better.”
While the season is going well for Brown, he also addresses that he has faced adversity. A core member of their 4×100 team, junior Joseph Kalinowski, is out for the remainder of the season, providing the group with an obstacle to overcome. Although Brown and the rest of the relay feel Kalinowski’s absence, Brown believes they are figuring the relay out and continuing to perform relatively well without him.
Early in the season, Brown said he aspired to win events at the Founder’s League Championship this year and succeeded in this by jumping 22’4”, setting a school record, and winning the event, something he had been looking forward to.
In addition to his father, Brown thanks two of his coaches who he believes are pivotal in his continued success. Brown is grateful for Jumping Coach David Baker. “He makes sure everything’s right with my form, keeps me level-headed, and makes sure I don’t get too big of a head,” Brown said. Additionally, he thinks Head Coach Tricia Watson has helped keep his spirits high throughout the season, even in moments of adversity. “She really makes sure I don’t get down on myself,” Brown said.
As for his teammates, Brown believes he gives them energy and can be a leader at times, while also feeding off of the energy of others. Since it’s now his third year on the team, Brown is starting to focus on helping the younger members get acclimated to the team. “It’s just a matter of making sure people are comfortable,” he said.
Furthermore, Brown raved about the community on the track and field team. “It’s a welcoming community,” he said. “We stick up for each other even when we make mistakes. We’re still there for our teammates. And even though we know that sometimes there are consequences for our actions, we don’t let that come in between us as teammates and, more importantly, as friends.”
Brown had an extremely impressive finish to his season dominating at New Englands as a sophomore. Brown won the long jump and also placed second in the 200 and 100m dashes. Brown also was a key part of the winning 4×1 for the Wyverns and next year he will look to improve his times even more.
As proud as Brown is of his fantastic individual accomplishments, he acknowledges the excitement of working on a team. “It’s more meaningful when you’re doing something that you get to do it with people who you’ve been doing it with all season,” Brown said. Brown is going to carry these values of hard work, camaraderie, and leadership with him, both as the season concludes and through seasons beyond, with the full support of the KO community behind him.
