Photography by Stephen Buchanan
Lacrosse consumed South River’s Bronwyn Patterson. At least until she got hooked on running. Patterson played lacrosse for a decade—including a stint on the top-caliber team, Chesapeake Club Lacrosse—before capping off that stretch with a Class 4A state championship win as a freshman member of the South River varsity in 2018. Patterson, now a senior, started running cross country and track to stay in shape for lacrosse. And it changed everything.
“I realized that as much as I love the sport of lacrosse, I really wanted to pursue running throughout the rest of my high school career and beyond,” Patterson says. “It’s where my heart was ultimately. I made that hard decision. It really surprised me. I didn’t ever think I would leave lacrosse.”
It turned out that running rearranged her future. What started out merely as exercise became a lifestyle. She’s captured six Class 4A state championships in cross country and indoor track, including running a leg on the 800-meter title winning team as freshman.
The number of titles could easily have been higher if not for the pandemic and a foot injury that caused her to miss two seasons in both cross country and track. Her other five titles came in individual events: the 800 and 1,600.
“There’s really a part of me that wonders what could have been,” says South River’s Josh Carroll, the school’s cross country and assistant indoor track coach. “You could have been looking at 10 to 14 championships. She is a one-of-a-kind runner that I’ve worked with in my 21-year coaching career.”
The 5-foot-4 Patterson will be taking her blazing speed to the University of Pennsylvania. She’ll run cross country, indoor, and outdoor track at the Philadelphia school.
“I am grateful for the opportunities I’ve had, and very proud of my titles,” Patterson says. “I never thought any of it would happen. I’ve just enjoyed the ride.”
The cross-country championship she won at host Hereford High in the fall of 2018 as a sophomore means the most Patterson. She finished 12 seconds ahead of the runner-up and the race included about 150 participants.
“Cross Country is a grueling sport and the course I ran there is really strenuous,” Patterson recalls. “That was my breakthrough race. It really pushed me and I surprised myself in that race.”
Carroll adds: “That is the toughest courses in the nation, and she went out and dominated. She was physically prepared to win that race and I think it was the turning point in her running career.”
That crown led to her being named the 2018 Washington Post Runner of the Year. That was one of 20 overall titles (county, regional titles among them) in her career.
“Her range is great,” Carroll says. “Very few kids can have the speed and endurance that she has.”
The 18-year-old Patterson trains like a champion. She works out two hours a day, and her routine includes running, Pilates, and core exercises. Patterson is only one of two female runners to have trained with the boys team at South River during Carroll’s coaching career. She’ll train with her fellow women runners in college.
“She is amazingly dedicated,” Carroll says. “And not just with completing her workouts. She’s a perfectionist when it comes to how she treats her body whether its nutrition or staying well-rested and grounded.”
Patterson may be an even better student than athlete. She carries a weighted 4.81 grade-point average and has taken 15 advanced-placement classes in high school, including six as a senior. She also helps out with community service at her Church, Severna Park United Methodist, and serves as president of her school’s Wounded Warriors Club. On top of that at South River, Patterson, who wants to be an environmental lawyer, belongs to the National Science Honor Society and Seahawks Saving Shorelines Group, which aids in rebuilding Chesapeake Bay Shorelines.
“If you are measuring your kid against her, good luck,” South River Athletic Director Dave Klingel says. “She does it all. She is the definition of the complete student-athlete. I would have loved to see her run for 12 seasons and see what she could have accomplished.”
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