Player Profile

Sam Vercruysse

Athlete Profile: David Brannigan- SUNY Brockport Track and Field

From star high school running back to current sprinter for division III Brockport, David Brannigan, through athletic achievement has navigated many highs and lows.

As an African American moving to a predominantly white town, David started out as an outcast. He detailed many instances where he dealt with racism.

“I was called a ni****, stupid and uneducated by fellow students” said Brannigan.

It was clear that he felt alienated by his peers. Through sports, specifically dominance on the football field David began to gain the respect that he had always deserved.

When David Brannigan was only a freshman in high school, the varsity football coach at Webster Thomas High School in Rochester, NY noticed his exceptional talent and offered him a chance to move up the ranks and earn a spot on the team. This was an opportunity that David ran with as he rushed for over 1,000 yards in his freshman season.

Brannigan continued this success throughout his high school career receiving numerous DI offers to play football. Although he enjoyed football and the success he was having, he had underlying love for track and field. Track and field did not bring the same amount of college attention as football did, but his 4x1 relay team ranked third in Monroe County which did create enough interest at the DIII level.

“Back then I was thinking about my body and if it could endure the punishment of playing football at that level. This ultimately led to my decision to pursue track and field at the collegiate level.”

David decided to take his talents to Utica College, a small DIII school in Central New York. His decision came because of a coach that he talked to there that he described as being “different, but in a good way.”

During his freshman season at Utica, Brannigan had gotten injured and could not participate during the season. At this same point in time the coach that helped bring him to Utica ended up leaving the program. Depression set in and that same loneliness that David felt when first moving to Webster started creeping back. A change of scenery was necessary.

Brannigan ended up transferring to MCC, a local Rochester junior college where he began applications to other four-year schools. At this time David had put his track career on hold to get himself back on the right path. Then he received the good news that he so desperately needed. Brockport had finally accepted him after seeing two previous attempts to get in denied.

“Brockport actually denied me twice before accepting me the third time. At MCC I lost the weight I gained during my injury rehab and began training to try and make the track team at Brockport.”

That is exactly what David Brannigan did. Shortly after transferring to Brockport David found himself back in his element and was able to rekindle the ability that made him a commodity coming out of high school and made the team.

Now in his junior season, Brannigan is competing in the 200m and 400m dash, the 200m being his preferred event. Unfortunately, like millions of other athletes in this country the emerging Coronavirus pandemic that has rocked this country has ended his spring season before it even started. When I asked him about how he is dealing with the effects of this trying time he was surprisingly positive about the situation.

“The only thing the virus has taken from me is my ability to compete in my outdoor season. I was able to complete my indoor season and being a junior, I still have one more full season to compete in. I’m going to take this time away from competing to lose around 10 pounds and gain some more of my speed back.”

This type of determination and positive attitude is what really resonated with me when speaking to David. During my time at SUNY Brockport we developed a great relationship that has blossomed into a friendship. Through his struggles, David has always kept pushing forward and at the center of all of it has been athletics.

David Brannigan is currently pursuing a degree in African American Studies with a minor in sociology. He also has big expectations for himself in his senior track season as he hopes to end his athletic career on a the high note that it deserves.

When I asked David how he wants his athletic career to be remembered and what he thinks makes him unique he answered it in a way that sums his character up perfectly.

“I want to be remembered as someone who didn’t take the easy way out and always kept pushing” he said, “What makes me unique is that I am a person who always puts others before myself. I don’t know why or where I learned this, it’s just something I have done my whole life.”