TEMPE, Ariz. -- Drelan Bramwell was the rare person looking forward to Friday the 13th -- Jan. 13 to be specific. That's when the Sun Devils track and field team opened its season at the NAU Friday Night Duels in Flagstaff.
"I've waited so long to be a Division I athlete," he said prior to the meet. "I'm so happy that the day is almost here."
Bramwell, 22, waited longer than most Division I athletes. He graduated from Northern Collegiate in Sarnia, Ontario as one of Ontario's top young sprinters, having taken fourth in the 100 meters at the 2011 Commonwealth Youth Games on the Isle of Man. Instead of attending a U.S. college, Bramwell elected to spend two years in Toronto training at the Athletics Canada Performance Series while attending college with his tuition fees covered.
He earned a bronze medal in the 4x100 relay with Team Canada at the North America, Central America & Caribbean Under 23 Championships in 2014, but he sensed something wasn't right.
"While I was in Canada I kept getting hurt and I wasn't sure why," he said. "As I learned, it was because I wasn't being trained properly."
Bramwell spent the past two years at College of the Sequoias in Visalia, California and that's where his career took off. He noticed an immediate drop in his times and he won the 100 and 200-meter dash at the California Junior College State Champion as a freshman. His times were even better the following year before a high-ankle sprain in April 2016 sidelined him for the season and impacted his ability to train until the middle of the summer.
The missed time didn't hurt his scholarship chances in the eyes of ASU coach Greg Kraft and sprint coach Ronnie Williams, however. College of the Sequoias had competed in several of the same events as ASU, including the Sun Angel Classic, the Mt. Sac Relays and the Stanford Invitational, so Williams got to know Bramwell before he enrolled at ASU for his junior season.
"Oh, my God, he's such a great kid," Williams said. "He's an absolutely fabulous young man and he's super-talented, hard working and so focused. I think he can be as good as anybody I've coached here or better."
To achieve that lofty goal, Bramwell is learning to train and work like a Division I student-athlete.
"My body hasn't been through stress like this before and I know because I feel certain aches I haven't felt before," he said. "This is a full training program, weights, six days a week practice. I've never felt this strong in my life."
Williams and Bramwell are also working on technical aspects of his form. Williams wants him to get more explosion out of his starts and he is working on his stride.
"We're working on lower-body mechanics so that he can exert more power into the ground, and move more efficiently. We're also working on a more optimal stride length," Williams said. "As that continues to improve, he'll continue to improve."
What has come to light most of all in Bramwell's short time at ASU is his range. Earlier in his career, he was a sprinter, but Williams has pushed him into the 400 meters and 4x400 relay, and Bramwell is discovering a new facet of his athleticism.
"It's nice to have that range because I know that if something doesn't work for me in my sprints I have more options," he said. "At this very moment, I feel like the 400 might be my best event and that is a little bit of a surprise.
"I can't wait to get going and see what I can accomplish with coach Williams. This is a big season for me in the sport and I just need to stay healthy so I can see where it goes."
At the Friday Night Duels, Bramwell opened up with a second-place finish in the 60-meter dash (6.82) – good for a new personal best.
"I've waited so long to be a Division I athlete," he said prior to the meet. "I'm so happy that the day is almost here."
Bramwell, 22, waited longer than most Division I athletes. He graduated from Northern Collegiate in Sarnia, Ontario as one of Ontario's top young sprinters, having taken fourth in the 100 meters at the 2011 Commonwealth Youth Games on the Isle of Man. Instead of attending a U.S. college, Bramwell elected to spend two years in Toronto training at the Athletics Canada Performance Series while attending college with his tuition fees covered.
He earned a bronze medal in the 4x100 relay with Team Canada at the North America, Central America & Caribbean Under 23 Championships in 2014, but he sensed something wasn't right.
"While I was in Canada I kept getting hurt and I wasn't sure why," he said. "As I learned, it was because I wasn't being trained properly."
Bramwell spent the past two years at College of the Sequoias in Visalia, California and that's where his career took off. He noticed an immediate drop in his times and he won the 100 and 200-meter dash at the California Junior College State Champion as a freshman. His times were even better the following year before a high-ankle sprain in April 2016 sidelined him for the season and impacted his ability to train until the middle of the summer.
The missed time didn't hurt his scholarship chances in the eyes of ASU coach Greg Kraft and sprint coach Ronnie Williams, however. College of the Sequoias had competed in several of the same events as ASU, including the Sun Angel Classic, the Mt. Sac Relays and the Stanford Invitational, so Williams got to know Bramwell before he enrolled at ASU for his junior season.
"Oh, my God, he's such a great kid," Williams said. "He's an absolutely fabulous young man and he's super-talented, hard working and so focused. I think he can be as good as anybody I've coached here or better."
To achieve that lofty goal, Bramwell is learning to train and work like a Division I student-athlete.
"My body hasn't been through stress like this before and I know because I feel certain aches I haven't felt before," he said. "This is a full training program, weights, six days a week practice. I've never felt this strong in my life."
Williams and Bramwell are also working on technical aspects of his form. Williams wants him to get more explosion out of his starts and he is working on his stride.
"We're working on lower-body mechanics so that he can exert more power into the ground, and move more efficiently. We're also working on a more optimal stride length," Williams said. "As that continues to improve, he'll continue to improve."
What has come to light most of all in Bramwell's short time at ASU is his range. Earlier in his career, he was a sprinter, but Williams has pushed him into the 400 meters and 4x400 relay, and Bramwell is discovering a new facet of his athleticism.
"It's nice to have that range because I know that if something doesn't work for me in my sprints I have more options," he said. "At this very moment, I feel like the 400 might be my best event and that is a little bit of a surprise.
"I can't wait to get going and see what I can accomplish with coach Williams. This is a big season for me in the sport and I just need to stay healthy so I can see where it goes."
At the Friday Night Duels, Bramwell opened up with a second-place finish in the 60-meter dash (6.82) – good for a new personal best.