The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Brown leads large Hawken group to college ranks
Standout senior will swim at Georgia
No one was going to doubt Portia Brown’s staying power anyway because of the manner in which she managed doing 200-yard freestyle and 200 individual medley back-to-back in the postseason the last two years. But what the Hawken senior did this past week will cement it for good.
Brown, a returning firstteam News-Herald all-star, signed a national letter of intent last week to swim for the University of Georgia.
Three years ago, she was taking on high school swimming for the first time as a sophomore after being home-schooled and not competing as a ninthgrader. Next year, she’ll be taking on the rigors of the Southeastern Conference in a fine example of establishing a presence in the sport.
“Everyone talks about like when you’re going to college, some people have that moment where they’re like, ‘This is the college for me,’ ” Brown said. “And some people don’t. But for me, I stepped on campus and I was like, ‘This is where I need to be.’ You step on campus, and it just feels like who I am.
“And I love how hard they work. It’s like their biggest thing. I’m not going to lie — I’m one of the slowest recruits going in. But I am so encouraged because I wanted to go somewhere where I would be kind of a small fish in a big pond because that means I have a lot of room for improvement. So I’m really, really excited. I love the coaching staff. I love the people there. The atmosphere is amazing. The camaraderie is so nice. I am just really excited.”
Brown is a three-time top-three individual state placer, having taken Division II state runner-up in 200 free, along with thirds each of the last two years in 200 IM.
How she navigated 200 free and 200 IM, events that run consecutively, with such success has been one of the more impressive feats in area high school swimming in recent memory.
Her postseason started strong this past weekend at the D-II SPIRE Sectional, taking first in 200 IM and 100 backstroke and swimming legs on the Hawks’ winning 200 medley and 400 free relays.
In a sense, these next two weekends at Cleveland State for district and Canton for state will be a culmination — from a shortened high school swimming career to one of the big programs in college swimming.
“I am a super ambitious person, so I always knew that where I went to college would be somewhere big,” Brown said. “But I never quite imagined it feeling like this. It has just been surreal. I just can’t put it into words.
“My freshman year, college wasn’t even on my mind. And then I came to Hawken, and I was like, ‘Oh, well that’s a thing to think about.’ When I was offered a scholarship at Georgia, I was surprised. I was like, ‘Oh, OK.’ And it’s been such an amazing journey. I am just so thankful for it.”
Brown will have plenty of company from Hawken in the transition to college life.
• Zeb Hart, the Hawks’ sprint free and butterfly standout and younger brother of three-time NewsHerald girls swimmer of the year Crile Hart, will head to Division III Williams (Mass.). Hart was D-II state runner-up in 100 fly last winter.
“I really liked the location and the D-III program they have there,” Hart said. “I love the mountains and everything, so it was great.”
• Three-time first-team News-Herald all-star Spencer Crawford, one of this area’s best throughout her career in 200 free and 100 fly, will compete at Denison.
• Bella Ratino, who was fourth in D-II 500 free a year ago, will head to Pittsburgh.
• Others making their commitments official were Becca Arn (Malone) and Colleen Como (Indiana, Pa.).