Edgar Ayala – Sports Editor
Jack Brown of the Southern Connecticut men’s track and field team was named Male Field Rookie of the Year by the Northeast-10 Conference.
After an impressive freshman campaign, the rookie out of Lyndon Center, Vt. took home the coveted freshman award for his pole vault performances throughout the indoor season.
“I was very surprised,” said Brown. “It was a mix feeling of being surprised and a feeling of happiness. I’ve worked really hard this indoor season. I gave myself a goal and earned this accolade. It was a really great honor, and for the years to come I’m going to try and earn myself some more.”
In Brown’s rookie season he had three first place finishes in the pole vault. The Elm City Challenge, the Spartan Regional Invite and at the NE-10 Indoor Track and Field Championships.
Head track and field coach, John Wallin, said after he recruited Brown from Vermont, he expected Brown to have an immediate impact on the team.
“When he came in, with what he did in high school, and what he had to work with,” Wallin said, “coming to Southern I knew he would have a lot of success. He’s going to have a lot more success in the next three to four years. It’s going to take some time, but I think he has a lot more potential.”
Potential he would soon reach, as Brown recorded his personal best pole vault jump at the 48th NEICAAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. He reached a height of 4.7m (15 feet 5 inches.)
His previous best pole vault jump was when he attended Lyndon Institute – a height of 4.57m (15 feet). That height is also the Vermont Division II record in pole vault.
“I was expecting to get about 15 feet, that was my primary goal for the indoor season,” Brown said. “To go over that by almost half a foot makes it 10 times better for me. It gives me a great mindset to go into the outdoor season and go higher.”
Not only that, but Brown added that his personal best pole vault jump was due to his coach pushing him to strive for more.
“Coach Wallin, he’s a brilliant coach, he’s a great coach. He’s definitely a big factor of helping me go higher,” Brown said.
Wallin also made note of Brown’s potential down the road. Wallin said if Brown puts in the work and dedication such as All-American seniors Mike Lee and Tresley Dupont, he could have the same success for the Owls.
“It’s hard to make comparisons to those guys until you see them for a couple of years, and they show the same dedication for an extended period of time,” Wallin said. “I would fully expect athletically, Jack to be as good as those guys, or at least in the same category as those guys in his perspective event. But he’s going to have to show years of dedication and resiliency to be put in the same category as those guys.”
When Brown’s time comes and he becomes a senior, he said that being Southern’s best pole vaulter is a goal he has for the upcoming years.
Yet with the indoor season behind him, Brown now looks to carry the same success he had indoors to the outdoor season.
“For the outdoor season I’m really expecting the same thing from indoor,” Brown said. “Height wise no, but the same hard work and dedication I’ve put in for the indoor season.”
The outdoor season for the Owls commenced this past Saturday at the Yale Invitational.
Photo Credit: SCSU Athletic Communications