Steppin' Up

STEPPIN' UP

Brown finds success by accident

By AMBROSE S. WILBANKS

NEWS SPECIAL WRITER

Bill Clinton and Bob Dole had better watch out.

In fact, when you talk to people at Greenhills, you get the impression that sophomore trackster Kris Brown could be president in his spare time.

Brown's most recent accomplishment was winning the Class D state title
in the 800-meter dash with an eye-popping time of 1:59.8.

“It was really hot that day and I was like, ‘I don’t know if I can do this,”’ Brown said. “But the older guys on the team pumped me up and told me to just give it my best.”

Brown led for most of the race, but as the pack approached the final 100 meters, he heard footsteps and found himself being passed. Now behind by about three meters, Brown threw his head back and put on his final kick, just edging his opponent at the line.

“I knew at the top of the stretch how much it was going to hurt, but I really, really hate to lose,” Brown says with a shy smile.

Always a competitor, Brown’s passion for running was actually bom of the need to stay in shape for basketball, a sport he still loves. When several coaches and fellow players told him he could turn his training into excellence on the track, Brown decided to give it a shot.

“I told him that he could be the best runner on the team by his senior year - and he accomplished that as a sophomore,” Greenhills boys’ track coach Josh Scully says.

Both Brown and Scully acknowledge the turning point in Brown’s track career came last year in East Lansing at a track camp run by Michigan State University.

“At first, I hated it,” Brown says. “All these guys were passing me and I couldn’t figure out why.”

So Brown asked questions, worked out religiously and figured out what it would take, pot just to run, but to win.

Scully says that Brown’s work off the track also contributed to his running success. A good listener and hard worker, Brown spends hours talking about articles on new training methods or how Pioneer continually puts out quality runners.

But during the past offseason, Brown’s dedication was sorely tested. Hip pointers and tendinitis in his knees all but ended any winter plans and threatened to put a hold on his championship season.

“It was so frustrating to see my teammates out doing their 10 miles and I’d have to watch or just do a couple of miles,” Brown says. “But I guess the rest helped.”

When you talk to Brown, you quickly realize that the time off must have been particularly difficult for him; indeed, what many would find a chore, Kris relishes.

“I just love it,” Brown says, referring to the long miles of training. “It’s very peaceful. The . solitude gives you a lot of time to reflect.”

Indeed, Brown has become the roving ambassador and chief recruiter for the boys’ track team at Greenhills.

“These days, most students are into the high profile sports, the ones they see on TV,” Scully says. “But Kris’s success and his desire to share his love of running are getting to a lot of folks who’d never thought about it.’

When asked about the future, Brown says that “like most kids,” he’d love to go to the University of Michigan and continue running, following in his father’s footsteps.

When asked about the advantages of being an only child, Brown hesitates, then adds “you usually get what you want.”

Given that and his record, U-M’s class of 2002 better save a spot for Kris Brown.

PREP PROFILE

■ Who: Kris Brown, age 16.

■ Favorite Film: Batman Forever.

■ Favorite Singers: Isaac Hayes, Curtis Mayfield, Al Green.

■ Last Book Read: Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad.

■ Other Interests: Golf, basketball, reading the Ann Arbor News.

NEWS PHOTO • STEPHANIE GRACE LIM

Greenhills sophomore Kris Brown, who starting running track to stay in shape for basketball, ended up winning the Class A 800-meter state title.