GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Despite making countless great memories at national events over the years, Nevaeh Brown can't seem to scrub her mind of the bad ones.

On Thursday, Brown will conclude arguably the best individual career in the history of Midway athletics, when she competes in the pole vault at the NAIA Indoor Track and Field Championships. Fresh off a fifth-straight River States Conference championship, she enters as the No. 8 seed with a top height of 3.76 meters.

At nationals, Brown has been an ever-present figure on the All-American podium. In seven appearances between indoor and outdoor, she's been an All-American (top-eight) finisher five times, including runner-up performances at both indoor and outdoor in 2004.

So surely a rare misstep, like her failure to clear a bar in her first appearance at the 2021 Outdoor Championships wouldn't still linger in her brain nearly four years later, right?

"That was devastating," said Brown, who acknowledges she can sometimes be hyper-competitive to a fault. "That was my lasting impression of nationals, because…(my coaches were) telling me, 'have fun, you've never been here, experience it, enjoy it.' And all I wanted to do after was to go home."

Another disappointment followed at the 2022 indoor meet. Refusing to check the standings at any point while competing, she thought she'd earned a top-eight finish, only to discover that her 3.57-meter jump put her one spot short in ninth.

And though she does remember the unfavorable times, Brown's memory of her national successes is equally vivid, as she easily recounts several meet details and pre-competition obstacles she encountered on her current run of success.

On Thursday, she'll look to make the memory of a lifetime, as she tries to become just the second women's indoor national champion to come from the River States Conference. She'd join former Point Park runner Anna Shields, who won four distance titles between 2018 and 2019.

Before leaving for the meet in Gainesville, Fla., Brown sat down to discuss each of her previous All-American performances. Some responses have been edited for length and clarity.

THE MEET: 2022 Outdoor Championships

THE RESULT: Fourth place, 3.65 meters

NEVAEH BROWN: That meant a lot because I felt like a lot of my hard work paid off. I felt very good, I felt strong. It was a lot but it was good for me



THE MEET: 2023 Indoor Championships

THE RESULT: Eighth place, 3.67 meters

BROWN: I remember being very nervous. I really wanted to place and coming off everything that happened from (2022) outdoor I was very motivated. When I got out…they wouldn't let me see anything so I had no idea I ended up placing. I thought I was one under and got ninth again. And they were like "Nevaeh, you made it."

Not the height I wanted (but) to even be on the podium with all of those girls is an accomplishment in itself, whether you're eighth or you're first. That is a big deal, because you're all getting the same medals. You won. In whatever right, you won.

THE MEET: 2023 Outdoor Championships

THE RESULT: Fifth place, 3.70 meters

BROWN: I was sick. I threw up the morning before. I was definitely sick going into that. I have chronic migraines so I always end up having a really bad headache. But I was really not feeling like myself at all.

But I was like "I've just got to get through the day, do what I can." Everything worked out, everything panned very well for me but I think that was the most challenging one.

The worst part about outdoor is the weather. Indoor, you have no weather issues. All you have to do is jump. Outdoor is a lot more stressful in that you've got to work with the wind. It's very difficult.

THE MEET: 2024 Indoor Championships

THE RESULT: Second place, 3.87 meters (Brown tied Indiana Tech's Evelyn Dolce for the top height, but Dolce won by virtue of clearing on her first try, while Brown needed two. Her 3.87-meter height is a Midway indoor record.)

BROWN: I'd actually say that, mentally, for me (this meet) when I got second, which is the (highest ranking) that I have was the worst. I had such a bad fall training. Nothing mentally was working right. My head wasn't in the right place. That was the first time I started going to therapy and mentally I was just a wreck. I was like "I don't understand why I can't jump." My body, my mind (would) not allow myself to make a jump.

But through therapy, and figuring myself out, self-care, that's when I finally had an epiphany and things started coming together. So that warm-up day was actually really good. I felt really confident going into everything, but everything can change when a bar goes up, when you actually start competing.

And that was the first time I learned to write down everything I'm doing. And (Midway head coach Duane Morris) actually helped me to do this just because he knew what I was going through during the season. And so I have a book and I write down the whole meet, what I think is going to happen, preparing for what could happen and visually seeing myself do these things helps me tremendously. It made for a successful day.



THE MEET: 2024 Outdoor Championships

THE RESULT: Second place, 3.80 meters (Finished behind only the 3.85 hit by Sonya Urbanowicz of British Columbia.)

BROWN: Actually, right before that, I think I got rejected from my last grad school I applied to. So it lit a fire. But I was motivated and I just felt really good.

When you familiarize yourself with the atmosphere and you kind of know some of the girls going into it, it's kind of homey. Being able to see those girls again and being able to compete is such a great feeling.

And after I got out I just remember all the coaches from different schools coming up to me and being like "We never know what to expect (from you) because you come out of nowhere." It just made me feel really good because I'm getting older but I know I'm in a good place and to have somebody that's not a part of your team acknowledge you, I think is really high honor.

*****

Brown's time with the Midway track and field program won't officially end Thursday, as she plans to return as a graduate assistant coach during outdoor season.

And while that won't entirely fill the competitive void, Brown, who says she had a lengthy cry at the end of the conference meet, says she'll be at peace with how her career has gone, regardless of her final finish.

"It's a little bittersweet, but...I gave this sport and this school everything I had for five years now," she said. "(Winning) is anybody's goal going in, but I have to remind myself, as much as I want to win, it's about having fun and that's what I hope to do."

Thursday's pole vault competition begins at noon.