Alyssa Brewer taking it to another level

Alyssa+Brewer+running+the+1600-meter+race+during+the+EBAL+Finals+on+May+12.

Photo courtesy of Mark Karbo

Alyssa Brewer running the 1600-meter race during the EBAL Finals on May 12.

Senior Alyssa Brewer is heading into college with a running start. 

As one of the most accomplished athletes Cal High has ever seen, the track and field star has taken first place in every meet this year for the 800-meter race .

From a young age, Brewer knew she loved to run. Following in her father’s footsteps, Brewer took off running and has yet to stop.

“My dad, who ran track in high school and college, has inspired me during my athletic career,” said Brewer. 

This season in track and field, Brewer earned a personal record running the 300-meter hurdles in 40.34 seconds, 600 meters race under 1:32:42 and 1600 meters race under 4:56:86. 

Brewer recently won NCS Tri-Valley Meet and EBAL Championship for 800 meters, running a time of 2:10.76 (NCS Tri-Valley) and 2:11:49 (EBALs). She also placed second in the 1600 at EBALs with a time of 5:07:51.

She competed in the NCS Meet of Champions over the weekend. Results were not available before The Californian went to press. The CIF State Championships are Friday and Saturday in Clovis.

The future looks extremely bright for Brewer given her impressive final season at Cal and her personal records and achievements over the past few years. 

Last year, Brewer won CIF State and Junior Olympic championships in the 800 meter race, becoming  the first woman school history to win a state championship. She  won the state title with a time of 2:06.86 and became the fastest runner in the North Coast Section since 1981. She is .02 seconds behind Livermore Jessica Spies’s sections record of 2:05.84.

“I think Alyssa’s best qualities are her hard work, dedication, and competitiveness,” said senior teammate Bobby Poynter. “I believe it is these qualities that have set her apart from other athletes and have helped her become one of the most accomplished athletes Cal has ever seen.”

Due to her immense amount of success, Brewer feels incredibly thankful and amazed to have achieved all she has the past few years. 

“It seems unbelievable to me and makes me further appreciate the success I have enjoyed,” said Brewer.

Brewer is also known to be very modest and unassuming by her peers and coaches even though she’s such a talented athlete. 

“For being one of the best athletes in the country in her event, she remains very humble,” said Cal’s track coach Mark Karbo. “She rarely even wears her letterman jacket because she doesn’t want to appear to be showing off.”

Even Brewer’s peers are impressed and enthusiastic about not only her athletic abilities, but Brewer as a person. 

“Alyssa is the most humble person I’ve ever met,” said sophomore teammate Megan Hoang. “She is extremely talented, but she’s also very down-to-earth.” 

Brewer’s success is well-deserved given the hard work and practice she puts in everyday. 

From practicing her speed endurance and strength to focusing on arm movement and agility when she runs, Brewer makes sure she tries her best every time. 

“My training has a variety of aspects to it,” said Brewer. “I work to improve my top end speed by doing 30 meter flys, as well as incorporating speed endurance and distance runs. Additionally, I do strength work and weights twice a week.”

She is also motivated by her personal goals to run certain times in different races and by her love of running and exercising. 

During the off-season, Brewer weight trains and plays soccer to build a base for track, allowing her to incorporate more endurance and distance work.

Besides track and field, Brewer also ran cross-country last fall for the first time.

“Without a doubt one of Alyssa’s best qualities is her work ethic, as well as her willingness to challenge and push herself,” said cross-country coach, Nick Shea. “Alyssa has faced a bit of a learning curve in her first year of cross-country, but she overcame the rigors of running in big races, challenging a new distance, and running a different style of race.”

Despite the struggles of running cross-country Brewer still won the women’s NCS title by more than 40 seconds.

As a teammate, Brewer is known to show a great deal of leadership and responsibility. 

“Alyssa is a leader by example,” said Karbo. “For every drill, run and technical workout, she tries her best. When others see her doing that, they follow her lead and work harder too.”

Her work ethic and dedication to the sport inspires both the coaches and teammates. 

 “She’s the most inspirational because she doesn’t need to say a word to prove anything. She just does it,” said Hoang. “She just succeeds. Actions speak louder than words, for sure.”

Shea feels similarly after coaching Brewer for a season. 

“Alyssa comes to practice, is focused on the task at hand, rolls through the drills, and runs the workout,” said Shea. “She is dependable and consistent, not only in her routine but as a member of the team.  

During track and field season, Brewer’s favorite meet that she’s been to is the Sacramento Meet of Champions in 2016. 

“It’s is where I ran my first 800 meter at an invitational meet against high level competition and posted one of the top times in California,” said Brewer. “That race made me realize I had potential in the 800 meter.” 

As for college, Brewer recently signed her letter of intent, committing to track and field at the University of Southern California. 

Brewer is excited about what the future holds but will also miss her high school team. 

“Track is one of the few sports I have seen where everyone is extremely friendly and congratulatory towards each other’s successes,” said Brewer. “The team has always been made up of many positive and competitive athletes seeking to improve their personal records.” 

In the future, after running at USC, Brewer plans to run professionally. 

“I think she will be an Olympic runner and have a good running career,” said her brother, Andrew Brewer.