NBHS Graduate Brian Sell Was An Olympian

This Sunday's closing ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics will have unique meaning for a former local athlete.

Brian Sell, a native of Woodbury and 1997 graduate of Northern Bedford High School, holds a special place in Morrisons Cove history. He is the only Cove athlete to represent the United States of America in Olympic competition.

Brian qualified for the Olympic team by finishing among the top three runners in the New York City marathon trial in 2008. Sadly, he and his marathon teammates trained in South Korea before the Beijing Olympics began and missed the ceremonies that mark the beginning of every Olympic competition.

But, he was there for the spectacular closing ceremonies, which was a memory to last a lifetime. Also there was his wife Sarah and his parents, Ed and Lois Sell of Woodbury, who made the journey to China to cheer him on

Brian's athletic promise was not always evident. As a freshman at Northern Bedford High School in 1993, he competed on the wrestling team, which worried his mother, who thought he was too small for that ferocious sport. Fortunately, a track and field team was organized and Brian took up running, learning racing techniques from Coach Melanie Bowser that eventually led to him winning three district track championships.

When no college track scholarships were offered, Brian enrolled at Messiah College near Harrisburg and prepared for the life of a normal student. During a biology lab class Brian fell into conversation with Messiah's star track runner and discovered that the star's best times were slower than Brian's high school records. Brian began running again, made a name for himself and soon transferred to St. Francis University, which competed at the Division I level. He was a seven time Northeast conference champion in races of 3,000 meters and up and was named to the Verizon At-Large Academic All-American team.

From St. Francis Brian hooked up with the Hanson and Brooks racing club based in Rochester, Mich. That club trained seven of the top male finishers in the 2006 Boston marathon and boasted Brian as one of its most celebrated athletes.

Sell did not win a medal in Beijing, among almost a hundred runners he finished 22nd, but did complete the 26-plus mile trial in the stifling heat and air pollution of the capital city, a feat of endurance and perseverance in itself.

Brian, 43, who majored in biology at St. Francis, is now a senior quality control scientist for the pharmacal giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in Lititz, Pa.