Fahey Bank Athlete of the Month: Marion Harding's Brennin Beechum emerges as track star
MARION — Brennin Beechum grew into his event.
The Marion Harding senior took ownership of the most grueling footrace in track and field, claiming the 400 meters for his own.
"It took a lot of work, working on it every day," Beechum said. "Last year we didn’t run for a whole year before then, so I was kind of surprised by how well I ended up doing last year. It only made me want to push harder coming into this season. I knew I could do good things in the 400."
Longtime Harding boys track coach Jerome Bohanna initially had Beechum pegged as a middle distance runner when he was a freshman.
"We saw him run the 4x4 one time and we said, ‘Oh, he might be a good 400 runner.’ We put him in the 400, and then we lost his sophomore year (due to the COVID-19 shutdown) and last year he started developing," Bohanna said. "He started lifting, and he started swimming. He developed into the 400 runner he is today."
As a freshman, Beechum was running a lap in 57 seconds, eventually getting it to 54.83. After missing his sophomore year in track due to the coronavirus pandemic, he returned as a junior more mature and ready for the event.
"He grew into that when he started lifting and he started swimming," Bohanna said. "That strengthened him up for it because it’s a man’s race."
In 2021, Beechum was a Mid Ohio Athletic Conference runner-up in the boys 400 with a time of 52.1. He finished sixth in the Division I district in 51.18, a personal record for him at the time.
But he knew he could get even better as a senior if he worked at his craft, honed his body, strengthened his lungs and added to his mental fortitude.
"He saw back in January what he needed to do," Bohanna said. "We talked and talked. He started working harder and doing extra stuff and started lifting. He started seeing that his time went from 51 to 50 to 49. He continued to do that."
His breakthrough moment came at this year's 72nd Marion Night Invitational when he won the 400 in 49.97.
"One thing I’ve always been told is to run your own race," Beechum said. "Don’t try to run anyone else’s race. Just do you. Really it was about getting out fast within the first 50 to 75 meters, and once you get there, you get into a little bit of a stride while keeping the momentum going that you built up from the start. You keep that until the 200 and then you start picking up a little more speed. Once you hit that last 100 meters, you’re basically done. You just got to hold onto your form and kick it in."
That was his approach as a senior and it worked.
He won the MOAC 400 race in 50.15 and was second in the 200 in 22.7. He was a part of the league-record-setting 4x100-meter relay team that went in 42.66 and was a part of the winning 4x400 relay that ran 3:32.32.
The points he scored helped the Presidents claim a second straight MOAC boys team championship.
"He worked hard. He helped other kids and was on other kids. He’s a great leader. He’s quiet, but he’s a leader," Bohanna said.
At the Division I district meet at Hilliard Darby, Beechum was second in the 400 in 49.78 to easily qualify for regionals and helped the 4x100 team to a third place finish and regional spot with a 42.33.
In the Pickerington North regional, he ran a best-ever 49.56 in the 400 prelims, but finished seventh in the finals with a 50.11. However, he earned a state berth along with Te'Sean Jefferson, Trinity Keith and Kaedan Faggs in the 4x100 by taking fourth in 42.11.
Competing in the D-I state meet at Ohio State's Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, the Prexies suffered some tough luck with a dropped baton in the prelims to end their season.
"In the moment I was devastated," Beechum said. "As time went on and I looked back, I did a lot of things this past year and I shouldn’t throw that all away because I had one bad race.
"Going to state, it was an amazing atmosphere, and it was so cool to see all the people there. It was so cool to run at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. At least I get to say I got there, and I got to experience that, which is not what most can say. I’m really thankful about that."
And he's not done.
Beechum will compete at the NCAA Division I level in the Sun Belt Conference, joining the men's track team at Appalachian State in Boone, N.C., next season.
"Way back in November when I was first applying to schools, I wasn’t looking at App State as a school I could go there for athletically, but I could definitely see myself going there because they have good academic programs. Their campus is beautiful and one of the best I’ve seen," he said.
This spring he reached out to some college programs, including App State. Once he broke 50 seconds in the 400, interest picked up.
"We got to talking and they made me a roster offer and the rest is history," he said.
Beechum expects he will focus on the 400, but once he gets to campus and starts training with the team, he knows that could change.
"I’m just going to work and do whatever is needed of me," he said. "Whatever they need me to do, I’m up to do it. That’s my mindset going into it. I’m not expecting to go there my freshman year and have a breakout season, running a lot and going to all the meets. I’m looking to go out there and work and see what I can do really."
What he did in May at the conference meet and in the postseason was more than enough for him to earn the Fahey Bank Athlete of the Month Award for Marion County boys.
"I didn’t see myself getting the award, but I wanted to," he said. "I was kind of surprised that I did get the call saying I had won it. It really wasn’t one of my goals for the season. It just happened, and I’m thankful for that."
Like he grew into the 400 meters, he grew into becoming a Fahey Bank Award winner.
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Fahey Bank Athlete of the Month
May Boys Nominees
» Winner: Brennin Beechum, senior, Marion Harding track and field.
» Cooper Miller, sophomore, River Valley track and field.
» Isaac Dillon, junior, Elgin baseball and track and field.
» Max Kellogg, senior, Pleasant baseball.
» Gage Gleespen, junior, Ridgedale track and field.
This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Fahey Bank Award: Harding's Brennin Beechum emerges as track star
