Oregon Freshman Reed Brown takes McChesney 1,500 meters

By Chiann Nobrega

Racing next to experienced athletes did not stop Oregon freshman Reed Brown from dominating the men’s McChesney 1,500 meters Friday at the 2018 Oregon Twilight Meet.

Against an impressive line up, Brown won the event with a time of 3 minutes, 41.75 seconds, ahead of District Track Club member David Timlin, who finished in 3:42.07.

“It’s an amazing feeling especially since this is the last (regular-season) race at Hayward,” Brown said. “It’s an honor to be here and to get to race in here one last time with the guys from the past and the ones here now.”

One person particularly surprised by the results was Timlin.

“I got beat today by a college kid, college freshman, that really pisses me off,” he said. “I saw Reed coming and dammit. He is a good kid, though.”

Brown said transitioning from a high school stage to a college one has been “nerve racking,” but he is thankful for his teammates. He is learning from the seasoned veterans and paying attention to the littlest details, including their eating and sleeping habits.

Brown’s strategy going into the race was to put himself in a position to have a good final 200. Getting up front quickly was important while also running a fast race with a good time. Brown was pleased with how the event played out and made very few adjustments.

“The race went to plan,” Brown said. “I put myself in a position with 200 to go and went for the win.”

Situating himself after the 800 was a huge move to make for Brown because he starts to hurt around that time, which is something he has been working on.

Training and practices have helped Brown ease into races like this. He’s noticed that every practice is important because he is running with what he calls “high caliber” athletes.

“The guys are so good. You have to get better every day no matter how you’re feeling,” Brown said. “I have learned to not take any workout for granted.”

Brown believes the season has gone according to plan and is right where he wants to be. One thing he hopes to improve on is the steeple.

“I got a time in the 1,500 pretty early, which was the plan so I could take these later races at different strategies and learn how to race different ways,” Brown said. “I am still trying to work on the steeple a little bit. I do not have a time in it yet. It would be the ultimate goal to get a nice time in the steeple.”