Westmoore's Madison Brown – Character Counts Presented by Eskridge Honda

By John Tranchina

Heading into her senior year, Madison Brown made the decision to put as much effort as possible into her running in an attempt to maximize her potential and see how much she could improve.

The results for the Westmoore cross country runner, who isn’t sure yet if she will run in college next year, have been impressive so far.

“I think mainly because it was my senior year, I felt like if I didn’t do my absolute best, I would regret it, so I would try and put everything out there,” said Brown, who also serves as the senior class vice president and is involved in the National Honor Society and several other activities at Westmoore. “That was mainly my motivation, because before I had held back a little bit. I was like, ‘All right, this is it, I got to pick it up.’

“I worked a lot harder and increased my intensity for summer workouts, which is our off-season for cross country. I would be at the lake or at summer camps, and I would get up in the morning and go run hills around my lake or just get up before the camp is released and make sure I got in all my miles, which is something that I normally had kind of slacked on. So I definitely stepped that up.”

That extra training has paid off. Last year, Brown finished 81st at the Class 6A state meet, finishing the 5K course in 21:46, as Westmoore finished ninth as a team. While all courses are different, she has definitely cut her 5K time down significantly – for example, finishing in 20:54 and placing 27th at the Deer Creek meet on Oct. 11 that featured most of the 6A schools on the west side of the state.

Brown’s determination to work hard has also been on display for her younger teammates, as she has evolved into a respected team leader for the Jaguars.

“I would say it just kind of comes naturally,” Brown said of her leadership role this season. “Just growing up in the program and looking up to all of the (older) runners, and now it’s my senior year, and I feel like it’s something I need to uphold. With all the people setting great examples, it just kind of came as I got older.”

Certainly, Westmoore coach Scott Downard appreciates her commitment.

“Madison is a very positive, coachable girl who has a bright future ahead,” Downard said. “She most likely won’t run in college, but she certainly could if she chooses to do so. Maddie has consistently been in our top three this season, but she’s also really upped her training and I expect her to be a vital force for us the last few meets of the season.”

 

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