Agoura running duo leading by example

IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers SIMILAR PATH—Agoura High senior co-captains Adam Brosh, left, and Brandon Severson will both attend Tufts University. Adam Brosh and Brandon Severson present striking portraits of contrasting personalities.

At a track meet two years ago, Brosh wrote poetry to girls on the team. During a recent prank, Severson caught a lizard and unleashed it in the hair of a female teammate.

The senior standouts for Agoura High's track and field team have plenty in common as well.

Brosh and Severson, who met as seventh-graders at A.E. Wright Middle School and have been running together all four years at Agoura, will continue their athletic careers at Tufts University, a prestigious academic institution with Division III sports outside of Boston.

"I didn't think we'd end up at the same school," Brosh said. "It was kind of by accident."

Brosh, 17, considered schools in California, Tufts, and Brown University in Providence, R.I.

The senior captain enjoyed his campus visit and meeting with Tufts track head coach Ethan Barron.

Severson, 18, deliberated between UC San Diego and Tufts around the same time. After talking with Barron, a handful of Tufts graduates and Brosh, Severson thought attending the Medford, Mass., school would be a good choice.

Severson and Brosh will visit the campus for a freshman open house on April 15 and 16.

"I know what I'm getting into," Severson said. "I'm pretty excited."

Co-captains on Agoura's cross country squad during the fall, Severson and Brosh will help lead the Chargers against Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks in a threeway Marmonte League meet today at 3 p.m. at Simi Valley.

Assistant coach Cathy Prater, who taught Brosh and Severson in an advanced placement chemistry class last year, said the duo works well in the classroom and on the track.

Prater said Brosh and Severson, chemistry lab partners, would often finish their labs a half-hour before anyone else.

"They never dog a workout; they never dog a run," Prater said.

"Their idea of screwing around during practice is exploring a new track and coming back covered in dirt. It's not ditching a workout or hanging out or running easy. The younger guys on the team get that message."

Brosh competes in the 800meter run, the 1,600 and the 3,200. Brosh's best time in the 1,600, his favorite event, is 4 minutes, 35 seconds. He wants to break 4:30 before the season ends.

Brosh, who's thinking about studying engineering at Tufts, carries a 4.3 grade-point average and takes AP courses in English, calculus and physics.

Severson participates in the 800, 1,600, 3,200, the high jump and 300 hurdles.

When he arrives at Tufts, he would like to try competing in the 3,000 steeplechase, which includes 28 barriers and seven water jumps.

Severson completed the 3,200 in a personal best 10 minutes flat last year; he'd like to run it in 9:40 or faster.

"I haven't had a good race yet this season," Severson said. "Maybe I'll have a good one (today.)"

Severson has a 4.0 GPA and is in AP calculus and physics. He would like to study biomedical engineering or chemical engineering in college.

Though they have different personalities, each is quick to point out the other's strengths.

"He has the ability at the end of races to push himself," Severson said of Brosh. "He has a better kick. If it comes down to the end, he can sprint by someone even if he has nothing left. He just goes for it."

Brosh thinks highly of his teammate, too.

"He has a really good work ethic," Brosh said of Severson. "Running is really a selfmotivated sport. He definitely has that, and he has natural talent and good endurance."