It's something that's only happened twice before in the Ivy League, once by Brown and once by the University of Pennsylvania. So when the men's and women's track teams returned from the Indoor Ivy League Heptagonal Championships last week boasting the fastest man and woman in the league - Thelma Breezeatl '10 won the woman's 60-meter dash in 7.58 seconds, and Paul Raymond '08 won the men's race in 6.85 seconds - Director of Track and Field Craig Lake was pleased.
"Obviously, we're pretty excited," Lake said. "Thelma was one of the top seeds, but she certainly wasn't a shoo-in - but she rises to the occasion. Paul was more of a surprise. Through the season, he was coming along slowly through his injuries but he never ... threw in the towel."
Breezeatl and Raymond arrived at their skills in very different ways.
Breezeatl grew up all over the country, living in Massachusetts, Virginia and now Pennsylvania, yet one thing remained the same - running track.
"It helped me a lot over the years," Breezeatl said. "It's always given me something constant."
Though Breezeatl tried her hand at basketball, it was track she ultimately focused on, running year-round by high school.
"I definitely liked (running track)," she said. "Especially when I was younger, because there was less responsibility. Now, it is more business, but it's fun business. In high school, it was so individual. My coach ran me at national meets, and it would be just me there. But in college, you have a team, and even though it's business, it's more fun because your team is there with you."
That concept of the team drew Breezeatl to Brown. Recruited by several schools, she narrowed her college search down to Brown and the University of Virginia.
"I came on a visit (to Brown), and I liked the team," she said. "They were like a family that worked hard but had fun. And of course the main thing was the education I would get - that was my mom's reason. I realized it was worth it to pay to come here."
Breezeatl went unbeaten in the regular season against Ivy League competition and arrived at the 2007 Championships seeded second by 0.01 seconds to Jeomi Maduka of Cornell, an opponent she had never raced head-to-head.
"I wasn't worried about her that much because I hadn't raced against her yet," she said. "But I wanted to win because she had won two events already (at Heps), and I didn't want her to win any more."
Not only did Breezeatl win, she smoked Maduka by 0.05 seconds, an impressive win that set the bar high for the rest of the track program during the weekend.
Raymond met and cleared that bar. Yet Raymond had traveled a very different road to get to that moment.
Raymond grew up in football-crazed Miami. Recruited by the football team to play wide receiver, running track never entered Raymond's mind until almost halfway through his college career.
"I came in freshman year and played football and didn't think about track much," Raymond said. "I asked the football coach my sophomore year about running track ... and told him I was thinking of running so that I could stay competitive. He agreed with it, so then I talked to (Lake), and she was happy to have me join the team."
Splitting his time last spring between football workouts and track practice, Raymond emerged from the balance as a highly competitive threat on the track, despite being completely new to the sport.
"Last season, I was really just learning," Raymond said. "I had some speed, but track is really technical, and you have to be really focused."
After getting the opportunity to race in a few meets, Raymond realized a newfound passion for the sport as well as success.
"I liked (track) a lot," he said. "The main thing was that it was so competitive. You are either faster than someone or you're not, and you can't depend on your teammates."
Raymond quickly proved to be faster than everyone in the Ivy League in his debut season last year. After competing in the 60m for only two months, he claimed the title of "fastest man" in the Ancient Eight, which he defended at this year's Heps.
Despite his immediate success on the track, football remained Raymond's first passion. He was drawn back to the gridiron last fall, but he marked his calendar for Feb. 25 - the day of the 60m finals.
"What I like most about the 60-meter is that you have to get everything down to have a great race," he said. "If you make one little mistake, you won't get a good time. You prepare all week for seven seconds. ... Football you always have another play - track you only have one race."
Raymond made that one race count at this year's Heptagonal Championships, edging out Penn's Joey Brown by the absolute slimmest of margins, 0.01 seconds.
"I struggled early on this season with a lot of little technical things that I was getting wrong," he said. "All three of the runner-ups (at Heps) had beaten me pretty good during the season. I was definitely more successful last season, but it was great to come up big in the clutch, score some points for the team and defend my title. It's good for the ego, too."
Raymond and Breezeatl have reason to boast, but both are quick to praise each other instead.
"When Paul won right after me, I was so happy that he defended his title," Breezeatl said. "It's nice seeing a teammate win in general, but I was really proud of him. I think it's hard to come back as a defending champ and not feel pressure. For me, as a freshman, there is no pressure, but when you already set the stage, it's hard to keep your head straight and repeat what you did."
The two train together every day and have developed a friendly rivalry.
"I was really happy to see her win her first Heps," Raymond said. "She's very talented, and I was proud because she wasn't phased by the environment. She was confident she'd win and get the job done, and that motivated me even more to step up. ... Plus, she's always teasing me that she's creeping up on my time, so you know I can't let that happen."
The teammates plan to continue their success on the track as they embark on the outdoor season. They will remain training partners, keeping the friendly competition flowing so that they can turn it into tradition next year that the fastest man and woman in the Ivy League will both be wearing brown.
