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Struthers’ Brooks is making his mark
The Vindicator
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A first-place finish in the boys 100-meter dash at Saturday’s Division II district track meet in Salem earned Jermayne Brooks of Struthers, left, a trip to the regional meet this week in Ravenna. Brooks also will compete in the 200-meter dash and on the 4x100 and 4x200-relay teams.
By Joe Scalzo
Four year ago, Jermayne Brooks was a promising young athlete who seemed destined to get his name in the newspaper.
But not for the reasons you might think.
“I’m from Youngstown, Ohio. South Side,” he said. “I moved to Struthers when I was a freshman and something told me that I don’t want that lifestyle no more.
“I needed to make a change. I’d either be dead or in jail and I knew I had too much athleticism to go to waste.”
Brooks said this on Saturday just minutes after finishing the 200-meter dash at the Division II district track meet. He finished second in that event, capping a phenomenal day in which he finished either first (100 and 4x200 relay) or second (200 and 4x100 relay) in all four of his events.
His performance set up a busy schedule at this week’s regional meet in Ravenna, which he considers a blessing. Brooks just missed qualifying in all three of his events at last year’s district meet, placing fifth in the 100 and sixth in the two sprint relays.
The top four in each event move on. The rest either end their careers or try to come back stronger.
“I just worked hard to be where I’m at now,” said Brooks, who was a first team all-conference and second team all-district running back in the fall and a key contributor on the district championship basketball team this winter. “My teammates pushed me, my coach pushed me and my mom pushed me.”
Brooks said his mother, Michele Woods, has played the biggest role in his success, helping him become a three-sport athlete who has excelled on the field and stayed out of trouble off it.
“My mom is the best lady in my life,” he said. “She pushed me to do this every day. That’s why I wake up every day and go to school every day.
“I probably missed four days in four years of high school and it was because my mom was telling to me be the best at what I do.”
Brooks had some Division II football scholarship offers but they were too far away from his family, so he’s planning to walk on at Akron next fall. But he still has some unfinished business in track.
“I want to make it [to the state meet] but we’ve got to do things right to make it out,” he said. “The other teams are doing what they’ve got to do and we’ve got to do what we’ve got to do.
“We’re all running the same race.”
Regardless, Brooks said this year has already been the best of his career — one where Struthers shook off its underdog label to win girls and boys district basketball titles, a conference boys track title and a district runner-up finish in boys track.
“I guess this was our year,” he said. “It’s been the best year ever.”