PROCTORVILLE - And round that early-laurelled head

Will flock to gaze the strengthless dead,

And find unwithered on its curls

The garland briefer than a girl's.

(From "An Athlete Dying Young" by A.E. Housman).

When former Fairland Dragons track star Antwuane Brown was killed Saturday in a car accident, those who knew him were devastated.

Assistant coach Brent Snyder was the sprint coach for the Dragons and worked with Brown on a daily basis. He spoke only in superlatives about the young man.

"Antwuane was a very hard worker. Any time you wanted anything, he would do it for you. He never loafed. He wanted to work hard toward running. That was his favorite thing to do," Snyder said.

"He worked hard in the weight room and he liked to stay and do extra work. He made the people around him better and he made them happier by the way he conducted himself."

Layne Wireman, who coached Brown during his first three seasons at Fairland, echoed Snyder's sentiments.

"He was a great boy. He was one of those boys that never complained and did whatever you'd asked. When anyone else would whine, he'd tell them to just go do it. He was well-mannered and had a great work ethic," Wireman said.

Brown set the school record in the 100 meter dash during the Ohio Valley Conference meet as he won the event. He was a member of the 4×100 relay team that qualified for the state meet last season.

"He told me he wanted to break the record. I told him with hard work he could, and he did. He was easy to coach. We were friends. If I got on him, he knew it was part of track. He was a fun kid to be around and a fun kid to coach," Snyder said.

Brown was killed in an accident on a return trip from the University of Rio Grande where he had attended orientation on Friday and signed to run track.

"He talked to me all year about how he wanted to go somewhere an run track, and he was so excited," Snyder said. "For this to happen is really sad."

Wireman said that Brown's impact went beyond the athletic arena.

"What he got, he worked for it. Before the season, he started running from work to home to get ready," Wireman said. "He was a good athlete, a good student, and a good kid. I'll miss him."