BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — This week's First Student Super 7 Athlete takes us to Sweet Home High School where senior Brent Baker is gaining attention from colleges across the United States.
Baker began running distance in track and field and also focused heavily on playing basketball. In his sophomore year, his mother convinced him to try something else.
"My mom told me to do high-jump," Brent Baker said. "I didn't want to do it, and so I just did it to make my mom feel good. Then that first practice, my coach was like, 'Yeah we're winning the state championship'. Mom knew, I don't know how but you know how moms are."
Baker won the state championship that year, and the year after, while placing third in outdoor track. He's looking to make it three straight next month.
"When I first started sophomore year, I had no form. I was just winning straight off of athleticism and hard work," he said. "It just feels awesome to have the form down, have the preparation to actually be able to know what I’m doing and then win."
"He's just a remarkable young man. Everything that we ask him to do, he takes it to heart and he gives it his best," head coach Lari Macpeek said. "He's somebody who's always thinking about his craft even when he's not practicing so he's studying tape, he's studying other elite talent to make sure he can kind of mimic what they're doing."
And that dedication led to multiple division one track scholarships of which he chose to commit to North Carolina A&T, the largest HBCU in the nation.
"The coaches were amazing, it was a great environment," Baker said. "The coaches are Olympians, and they really took a chance. They gave me a shot."
"I mean his character, this leadership," Coach Mackpeek said. "He's going to have so many doors of opportunity open to him."
In March, Baker will compete for the high-jump state title. Congratulations and good luck Brenton Baker, you're this week's First Student Super 7 Athlete of the Week.
