When you go down the list of greatest rivalries in sports there are few that come to mind. Ali & Frazier, who met three times, or even Martina Navratilova & Chris Evert, who met 14 times in Grand Slam Finals, come to mind for many people but one pair that cannot be left anymore is Carolyn Brown (Phoebus-senior) and Brandee' Johnson (Nansemond River-junior).
Take the Navratilova and Evert Rivalry for example, they met in 14 Grand Slam finals (tennis) with Martina winning 10 over the span of 11 years. Johnson and Brown have met for a state or national title 14 times in just three years! So by frequency this rivalry is already better, but let's take a look at the head to heads, personal bests, and stories to see why this rivalry stands out above the rest.
Through conferences this season, Brown and Johnson have met a hefty 42 times, with 29 going in favor of Carolyn and 13 going to Brandee'. They have both competed in 18 events and in those 18 events, Brandee' has a better pr in 9 while Carolyn has the other 9. Brandee' also has competed in four more events then Carolyn and thus leads in 14 events compared to Carolyn's 10. But the best part is how one will have a better mark indoors and the other will have a better mark outdoors as is the case with the long jump and 200m dash.
As you are starting to see, these two girls who both moved from AAA to 4A have quite the battle going on. But, it is not about pr's and titles if they don't face each other in the actual race and that is exactly why this rivalry is the real deal. Nearly any race they have been in for the past two years they have won and when they face each other they bring out another level of competitiveness and almost always go 1-2 pulling away from their competition. The best race though has to be the 2014 Outdoor Nationals 200 where Carolyn won by .01 in the prelims over Brandee' and then was bested by Johnson by .04 in the finals as they raced side-by-side down in NC.
In the title department Carolyn has 6 state titles and Brandee' has 4, but of course Brandee' is also a year younger and both have this season and next to potentially raise those numbers up to above 10 each. Currently, Brandee' is sitting at US #3 in the 300 (38.55) and is one of the legs for the US #2 4x200 and US #9 4x400 relay. Carolyn on the other hand was the lead off leg for the US #17 4x200 and her all-time best in the 55 places her at US #4 in that event (6.96).
Though all of the statistical analysis may be really interesting, the real interesting thing is that this week the rivalry continues as both girls will likely face off in another two events. Who will pull away from the other or will we see another back and forth volley like we did at Nationals? Regardless though of whose side you are on, this is one of the best rivalries in our state regardless of sports and one of the best in track & field.