Multisport Athlete Caps High School Career With 3 Gold Medals at Region Meet
Dooly County High senior Jemari Sanders has made the most of his time as a student-athlete for the Bobcats. He is a member of the school’s football, baseball, and track teams. He loves to play them all, and he’s good. As an infielder and outfielder for the Bobcats baseball team this season, he hit .273 with 19 runs scored. He was the team’s offensive MVP, and he is a kick returner, punt returner, receiver, and cornerback for the football team.
Despite being quite successful at each of the sports he plays, there’s one sport that he loves most of all.
“Track is my number one sport,” Sanders told ITG Next. “I love it.”
And it shows.
Sanders competes in several events for the Dooly County track squad, including the 100m and 200m dash, as well as the 4x100m relays. His PR this season in the 100m is 11.05; in the 200m it’s 22.61.
Dooly County track coach Catozzio Murray said Sanders is a speedster: “Jemari is the fastest on our team.”
In the region meet that recently concluded, Sanders backed that statement up. He placed first in both the 100m and 200m, and he also picked up a gold medal in the 4x100m. Overall, the team placed fourth in the region meet.
His outstanding performance at the region meet allowed him to qualify for the sectional meet, which will be held in Albany.
Murray said he is not surprised with the results.
“I have coached Jemari now for the last three seasons,” he said. “I took over the track program here at Dooly County when Jemari was a sophomore, and the first thing I noticed when I met him was that he was so intelligent and wanted to compete at the highest level. I noticed right away how determined, motivated, and focused he was about track and field.”
The coach said Sanders is one of those athletes who doesn’t say a whole lot, instead letting his results do the talking.
“He is somewhat quiet, but he will give assistance to his teammates and peers,” Murray said.
Dooly County head football coach Cecil Lester also was very complimentary of the multi-purpose Sanders.
“I know Jemari loves track, and has a tremendous upside for it, but he was also a critical player for us during the football season,” Lester said. “He played on both sides of the ball for us as a defensive back and as a wide receiver on offense, and he also served as one of our kick returners last season.”
The coach said Sanders’ small stature never made much of a difference when Sanders was on the football field – at any position.
“Being small has never been a setback for him because he has loads of confidence in his abilities to play anywhere, and at a high level,” Lester said. “And that really that goes for any of the sports he plays.”
Both coaches were quick to point out that Sanders takes his academics as seriously as his athletics.
“Jemari is a smart kid with an outstanding GPA, and he is an honor student,” Murray said.
Added Coach Lester: “Jemari is right at the top of our school when it comes to his grades. He has fantastic parents as well as a great support system. He is loved by his peers.”
Sanders’ baseball coach at Dooly County is Adam Turner. Like his coaching cohorts, he spoke glowingly about Sanders, on the field and off.
“Jemari was our offensive MVP for the second straight season, and he had 22 stolen bases out of 22 attempts,” Turner said. “He was named to the Class A-D2 All-Region team as a second-team outfielder. He was always the engine for our offense this season. Jemari is the epitome of what a student-athlete should be. He is extremely competitive on the field and in the classroom.
“Just an all-around good kid,” Turner added.
It’s likely everyone who knows Sanders would agree.
