Tommy CassellMetroWest Daily News
WAYLAND — After touching the wall first as theanchor leg ofa relay race duringthe Division 2 state championship meet on Feb. 19,Deirdre Brownwas in tears.
Not because the Wayland High swimcaptainhelped her team win the 200-freestyle relay event, but because shewas in pain. Brownhyper-extended her right elbowwhen she reachedthe cement barrier at MIT’sZesiger Pool and had to be dragged out of the water.
“The pool was cleared and the meet was stopped for me,” Brown said. “It was a little embarrassing and I was scared.”
Still, Brownhad one moreevent she was scheduled to participate in 10 minutes later. And there was no way the Wayland High seniorwasn’t going to competein her final race as a high school swimmer.
“I didn’t care if I went slow or not,” Brown, 18,said. “I just had to finish.”
Following four laps and four touches of the wall with her injured arm, Brown finished the 100-yard breaststroke in fourth place with a personal-best time of 1:08.00.
“No matter what the circ*mstance is, the injury, the setback, she’ll always find away to overcome it and work through it,” Wayland boys swim captain Billy Burke said. “States (were)just a prime example of that quality in her.”
“To see her just go up and do that, knowing that it hurt her a lot to swim that event, is such a testament to her,” Wayland swim coach Mike Foley said. “It made for a great storyto closeouther career and is something we can tell people for a long time.”
Leaving a legacy in the pool
Brown was 4when she started taking swimlessons at Wayland Swimming & Tennis Club. Her older brothers, Jack and Griffin, also swam.
“She was the youngest one and didn’t like to be told she couldn’t do anything,” said Brown’smother, Sheila.
Along with swimming, Brownplayed soccer and lacrosse growing up. Her life revolved around athletics and the ever-changingthree-sport cycle.
“She’s always been passionate about different sports,” her mother said. “My husband and I laugh and say that it almost doesn’t matter the sport — give her a uniform and put her on a roster, and she’ll play whatever it is.”
Heading into her freshman year at Wayland High, Brown decided to swap sports: soccer for field hockey. She had never played the latterbefore.
“The first day of tryouts was the first time I had ever picked up a field hockey stick,” Brown said.
Fast forward to this past fall, Brown, a captain, was selectedas a Dual County League All-Conference All-Star.
“She was a great, hard-working player that played with passion, commitment and drive,” Wayland field hockey coach Shelly Fraser said. “I will always remember my Deeds.”
As a freshman, Brown joined the Wayland High swim team while her oldest sibling, Jack, served asa senior captain for the boys’ squad and her other brother, Griffin, who is autistic, swam at practices with the Warriors. That same season, Brown qualified for states in the 200 individual medleyand 100 breaststroke.
Four years later, the two-time Daily News All-Star for swimming capped off her time in a Wayland swim suitwith agutsy performance in thebreaststroke after injuring her arm.
Meet: The members of the Daily News Boys Swimming & Diving team for winter 2022-23
“I’ve been swimming for 14 years,” Brown said. “So not finishing (the last race after getting hurt)didn’t make any sense. I think the adrenaline helped and I was really happy.”
Said Burke: “She’s one ofthe best swimmers that Wayland’s seen come through on the girls side.”
“She gave it her all and left it in the pool,” Foley said.
What can Brown do for you?
With her daughter on a recruiting call with a college lacrosse coach two years ago, Sheila listened in from the hallway of their Wayland home to hear how Brown handled the questions.
No eavesdropping of course. Just checking in.
“I remember the coach asking what kind of player (Deirdre) was andshe said‘I’m mentally tough and I don’t crumble under pressure, and I love the last five minutes of the big game,’” Sheila recalled. “She’s just a competitor. It doesn’t matter the sport. Just give her the opportunity to play or swim and she’s all in.”
Last spring, Wayland High girls lacrosse coach Ashley Means moved Brown from her normal position as defender to midfield. The switch resulted in Brown compiling 54 goals, 18 assists and 73 draw controls while leadingthe Warriors to the Div. 2 state semifinals.
As a result, Brown was named a Daily News and DCL All-Star, and earned a spot on theearning Eastern Mass. Girls Lacrosse Coaches Association (EMGLCA) Second Team.
“She’s physical and she’s just tough as nails, so we ended up taking advantage of having her physicality and tough play,” Means said. “... So we were like ‘let’s just try her in the midfield’ and she’s been really dominant in there for us.”
So far this spring, Brown has 23 goals, 10 assists and 42 draw controls to help the Warriors get off to a 7-1 start, with their lone loss coming to Div. 1 powerhouse Lincoln-Sudbury on Thursday. And luckily for Brown, when her time at Wayland High comes to a close, thesports cycle will continue.
She’s committed to play Div. I lacrosse at American University.
Swim legends: Hall of Famers. State champions. The Foley family legacy continues in high school swimming
“She always had the next thing to look forward to,” her mother said, “and now she still has another next thing.”
“Playing three sports is just something I’ve always grown up withand I think I've benefitted (from it) a lot,” Brown said, “and it just keeps me busy and it’s what I love to do.”
A throwback to a bygone era, the Wayland High three-sport standout just wants tobe in the game.
It’s all Deirdre Brown hasever known. And it’s all she’s ever wanted.
“That’s just who she is,” Foley said. “She’s one of those special kids that comes along every now and then.”
Tommy Cassell is a senior multimedia journalist for the Daily News. He can be reached at tcassell@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @tommycassell44.
