Competing in her best event, the 3,000-meter steeplechase, Brown finished with a personal-best time of 10:05.64, which was good for fifth place at the ACC Championships. That also gave her an All-ACC finish and moved her to No. 6 all-time at Florida State in the event.

“I finished this spring,” Brown stated. “I made the all-time list for Florida State for the women’s steeplechase. I finished fifth at ACC’s which is the highest I’ve finished in any event throughout my collegiate career. It was good to get an All-ACC finish. It was definitely a major goal through my time at Pitt and FSU.”

Brown had one more chance to qualify for the National Championships, but came up just short of that goal in the regionals.

“My last race for Florida State was at (the University of Northern Florida) in Jacksonville, which was the NCAA East Regionals,” Brown said about her final race. “I was fourth in my heat and the top three make nationals. It was me versus my roommate and she was about 0.2 seconds ahead of me, so she got that final qualifying spot. It definitely hurt, but I was super happy for her and I did everything I could. I closed really hard and I’m really proud of my effort.”

Fredonia native Emily Brown will begin her coaching career this season at UCLA, joining the track and field staff as an assistant to the distance coach. Submitted photo

For many college athletes that would mark the end of her athletic career, but that’s not the case for Brown.

A year ago, the Fredonia native — who also has dual citizenship with Canada — competed in the Canadian Olympic Trials in the steeplechase. This year she had the opportunity again, but vying for the World Championship squad instead.

“Just being able to get out there and be in the field,” Brown said about running in Canada. “Getting to know the people and the players in the Canadian track world has been super great. Last year was my first time competing with the Canadian ladies, so I’ve definitely gotten to know them a bit better the past year.”

At the Olympic Trials, Brown ran 10:25.94 which earned her eighth place, but this past weekend in Ottawa, Ontario she improved that time and her placing quite a bit. At the Canadian Nationals, Brown shaved off more than10 seconds from a year ago and posted a time of 10:13.29 to claim a silver medal at the event.

“I definitely want to keep getting faster,” Brown added. “But I think that last weekend was getting one step closer to accomplishing the goals that I want to accomplish. I’m hopefully setting myself up for success in future meets. I just want to continue to make a name for myself in that world.”

The overall champion was Grace Fetherstonhaugh, who blazed past the competition with a time of 9:41.05 and will represent Canada at next month’s World Championships in Tokyo. Eventually representing the National Team has now become one of the goals for Brown.

“I know that making a national team is somewhat of a long-term goal for me,” Brown stated. “It’s nothing I thought about in high school, but transitioning from the end of my time at Pitt, it’s kind of something I’ve talked about with all my coaches. It’s something that’s kind of been my major goal throughout this.”

While most runners have the benefit of running all year with a team — usually at the collegiate level — the now-graduated Brown will have to train independently from an affiliated school.

“I want to keep running,” Brown stated. “I think that was a big part of me going to Florida State. For me, it was meeting people that know what it’s like to run post-collegiately and figure it out from there.”

That could be a daunting task for most competing unattached, but Brown is up for the task, and this year she will not be away from the college track scene, she will just be in a different role.

“It’s nice being in college because everything is laid out for you,” Brown said about her post-collegiate career. “Now it’s a little more on me to engineer what I want for myself post-collegiately. It’s definitely intimidating. It’s nice to have a coach and access to all of these resources. … I’m working at UCLA as an assistant track coach now which is a great opportunity to be in that world and around people and resources.”

Making the move from Pitt to Florida State, Brown didn’t just switch schools, but her area of study, acquiring a master’s degree in coaching. After applying to many schools, Brown landed her decision on working with the University of California at Los Angeles track and field team.

“Throughout college I grew an affinity for mentoring other people and helping advise them,” Brown stated. “I really believe that if you’re doing things the right way, if you set a goal for yourself, it’s pretty achievable. I really want to help athletes to make the most of their potential.”

Sticking with Power 5 programs, Brown decided on UCLA where she will be an assistant to the distance coach.

“I want any opportunity that I can get,” Brown said. “I reached out to a ton of people from a ton of places. I interviewed with a bunch of coaches from universities in different states. I definitely wanted something different and I’ve lived on the East Coast my entire life … so I think now I’m looking to experience something new, and the West Coast is something exciting to do that.”

Brown’s first interest in coaching began when she was at Fredonia Middle School and now she will begin coaching at one of the top program’s in the country.

“I think I’ve always been interested in coaching,” Brown added. “I started reading different training, coaching theories and stuff like that when I started the sport in seventh and eighth grade. I’ve definitely been interested in the why behind what we’re doing.”

While her main job will be helping the future of track and field, Brown will still be able to chase her goals as her track and field career is not over yet.