SARASOTA – Like every other sophomore in high school, Jakai Peterson faces some important decisions in the near future.
However, unlike many other high school sophomores, Peterson is thinking about what lies ahead with a variety of options available to her.
She is a multisport star with a 3.6 grade point average at Booker High. Maintaining that status over the next two years will keep all possible doors open for Peterson, who is currently focused on the Class 2A Region 3 track and field championships scheduled for Thursday in Davenport.
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The 5-foot-3 Tornado carries Class 2A-District 12 individual titles in the long jump and 400-meter dash in the regional competitions. She also anchored Booker’s winning 4×100 relay team and placed third in the 200 meters at the district meeting.
Peterson also won individual district crowns in the 400 and long jump as a freshman.
“At this point in the season I’m trying to set personal records, especially in the 400,” said Peterson.
Her current personal best in this event is a brisk 58.30 seconds, which is also a school record held by Booker. She also owns the school mark in 800 meters (2:36.2), although she only runs the event once per season.
That’s part of the plan of Booker’s veteran track coach Sheldon Cantrell, who also coached Peterson at the AAU track as a youngster as part of his Sparq track club.
“I urge her to just run it once a year to see where she ranks her for the 400,” Cantrell said.
“She’s a great student athlete. she is calm Still, she leads on the field.”
As it turns out, Peterson is quite a leader on the basketball court, too. She played a key role for the Tornados earlier this year, winning district and regional championships to earn their way into the Class 4A State Final Four before losing to Lake Highland Prep in a state semifinal game.
Peterson is still relatively new to the game of basketball. She averaged 7.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.3 steals, and 2.9 assists per game for Booker.
“Jakai is very versatile,” Cantrell said. “She can be a collegiate multisport athlete.
“I didn’t think she knew how much fun she would have playing basketball. I don’t think she knew she would be as good as she is.
“Track is her great love. But she found a new love in basketball.”
Peterson’s goal for some time has been to run track and field and long jump at LSU. But her success on the hardwood keeps her open to new challenges.
“I’ll probably always choose athletics over basketball,” Peterson said. “I would like to do both. It depends on who I get offers from.”
In the meantime, Cantrell will do whatever it takes to ensure Peterson’s future remains bright.
“You have to be able to deal with adversity on and off the field,” Cantrell said. “It’s up to her to find her way. One way or another, she has to learn, especially if she wants to be a collegiate athlete.
“She’s in this position where she’s trying to do two sports and try to excel in two sports at the same time. We’re just going to toss it and see who has the best offer when it comes time for them to commit to college.
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