Biography
By Jim Hague
When Rutgers-Newark head track and field coach Juan Edney made a recruiting trip to West Deptford High School in southern New Jersey a few years ago to try to recruit another athlete, little did he know that he would end up securing the services of a talented and remarkable young man named Kevon Brown.
Edney went to West Deptford to see another track athlete perform, but he was also introduced to Brown at the same time.
“I ended up making contact with Kevon and sent him some information about the school,” Edney said.
However, Brown decided to attend East Stroudsburg University to play football instead.
“It was just my desire at the time to play football,” said Brown, who spent one semester as a defensive end at East Stroudsburg in the fall of 2009, a season where he had 18 tackles and one sack, starting five games.
After one semester, Brown realized that he missed track and field.
“I always thought my better sport was track,” Brown said. “I had to go somewhere else, where I could focus more on school. I first wanted to play football to please my grandfather (who helped to raise Brown), but I thought about it and decided to leave to focus on my studies more. I remembered Coach Edney from before and I had a good feel for him and the school. He’s a good guy.”
Brown arrived at R-N in January of 2010 and Edney knew that he had the makings of being a solid performer.
“I already knew he had potential,” Edney said. “I really wanted to have him come here after high school, but he decided to go play football, to see if he had the desire to play. Once he got it out of his system, he came here, but he was already behind everyone else.”
However, Brown worked his way into the regular lineup with the Scarlet Raiders and almost instantly earned a distinction, becoming the first All-American in Rutgers-Newark track and field history. He won the New Jersey Athletic Conference 200-meter dash and established new school records in the 55-meter and 60-meter hurdles. He earned the NJAC Rookie of the Year and the school’s top freshman athlete award that year.
“At first, he really wasn’t ready to take on the college hurdles,” Edney said. “Although he’s 6-foot-3, the hurdles are higher in college than high school (from 36-inches in high school to 42-inches in college). He had to learn to adjust, but he did. He got a full year with me under his belt and came back bigger and stronger.”
As a sophomore, Brown had a sensational season, becoming the first R-N track athlete to ever qualify for the NCAA Division III nationals, earning national berths in both the indoor and outdoor seasons.
During the indoor season, Brown finished eighth in the nation in the 55-meter hurdles, breaking his own school record in the process with a time of 7.65 seconds. Brown also earned All-NJAC honors.
However, before the outdoor season began, Brown began to suffer from some serious leg pains in both of his calves.
“Actually, I first thought it was just soreness,” Brown said. “I tried to run through it, until I realized how bad it was.”
“He’s just a big, quiet kid who doesn’t say much,” Edney said. “I was yelling at him all the time that he kept falling back on his heels when he was hurdling. I never saw anything like it. I didn’t realize he was in so much pain. I made him go see a doctor.”
The doctor’s examination revealed that Brown was suffering from a serious illness called compartment syndrome.
Compartment syndrome is a condition that causes increased pressure in the muscles that could eventually lead to permanent muscle and nerve damage, restrict blood flow and could lead to even more life-threatening situations like thrombosis, pulmonary embolisms, blood clots and possible amputations.
Brown decided to try to keep running despite the diagnosis.
“How he kept running is beyond me,” Edney said. “He wanted to keep going. He went to therapy to relieve his pain and trained on his own every day, but really couldn’t run much. He definitely wanted to try to make it to the nationals again.”
“For the most part, I tried to stay positive,” Brown said. “I knew there were risks, but I wanted to keep going.”
Brown somehow managed to compete on a limited basis during last outdoor season and finished 12th in the 110-meter high hurdles at the NCAA Division III nationals. His dedication and performance earned him Rutgers-Newark’s Co-Male Athlete of the Year honor.
After the season was over in June, Brown had the surgery needed to relieve the pressure on his muscles and veins in his leg due to the compartment syndrome.
“Rather than run with the risk anymore, I decided to have the surgery,” Brown said. “I was relieved when I found out I would be fine. If this was the worst that could happen, then it wasn’t bad. As long as I could first walk and then run, for the most part, I was fine. It was over.”
Brown is still in recovery mode after the surgery, but he’s beginning to feel like himself again.
“I feel good,” Brown said. “My motion is more fluid. I’m pretty excited about getting back.”
Brown is slated to test his legs in the hurdles for the first time this weekend at the Metro Coaches Invitational at the 168th Street Armory in New York.
“I am really excited about it,” Brown said. “I just want to get the first race out of the way. I have high expectations for this season. I know I just came off surgery and I have to take it easy. But I’ve put it in the back of my mind and I’m moving forward.”
“He doesn’t want to sit around,” Edney said. “He wants to run. It’s unbelievable to think he’s doing what he is. He might struggle a little at first. He still hasn’t gone over a hurdle. But in the long run, he’ll be okay. He’s going to run Friday and we’ll see how he does. He’s a credit to all of us. You really couldn’t ask for a nicer kid.”
Brown is a history major at R-N and he doesn’t know where his future lies with a history degree.
But he’s already a published author.
Brown’s first novel, “Hero: The Manipulated Perception,” was recently released after Brown self published it.
“It’s basically about a kid who has lived in the shadow of his friends and how he has a different perception of the world,” Brown said. “It’s about the lessons he learns as he gets older and makes a life for himself. The kid learns that he can’t please everyone.”
Brown said that the novel is not autobiographical.
“It came from an idea I had,” Brown said. “I always liked writing and wanted to write a novel. I’m happy that it’s out.”
Brown’s book can be purchased online at www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com.
Maybe Brown’s next book can be about his incredible comeback and recovery from such a serious illness. That is a tale in itself.
