Safe At Home

Rakieem 'Mookie' Salaam is not a typical senior at Edmond North High School. But then again, there's very little about Mookie that is typical. After all, he's spent all of one season on the football field, has developed into one of the state's top sprinters, played basketball, and all of it while moving across the country and finding a new family. Despite living in Edmond for only a year, Salaam has quickly made a name for himself around town and across the state. A rare three-sport athlete at a large school, Salaam has found success on the football field, the basketball court, and is now making jaws drop on the track. Last year, Salaam's family made the move to Oklahoma from Las Vegas to spend time with his grandmother, who was dying of cancer. Salaam admits he was not excited about the move, but said he understood why. "I was like, 'Oklahoma, what is there to do in Oklahoma?'' he said. "But now I love it, the people are nice, and they take sports more seriously here," Salaam said. Then, right before the school year started, his world changed again. Family problems caused him and his siblings to move into foster care before Salaam found a home with the family of teammate Kelby Peterson, who regularly gave Salaam a ride home from practice. He moved in with the Peterson's and immediately became a part of the family. And that's when his athletic career took off. Salaam has quickly developed into one of the state's fastest sprinters. He has posted blazing speeds of 10.41 in the 100-meter dash and 21.05 in the 200, and is yet to lose in either race this year. Salaam has also developed into a strong long jumper, having posted a season best of 22 feet, 8-inches. "He was solid for us last year, but this year he's a leader for us, he gets the team going," North track coach Kent Douglass said. "The kids like him and respect him, because he not only says things but he backs it up, too. You wish you had a whole team of Mookies." While Salaam may feel most comfortable on the spongy track, he was nearly as impressive on the gridiron last fall. Before the season began, Salaam's teammates selected him as one of the team captains, despite never playing a down with the Huskies. As the season got underway, many saw the special player Salaam was on the field. He helped the Huskies earn a playoff berth and finished the season with 41 receptions for 590 yards and two touchdowns. "I sure wish we could have him again, because he has unlimited potential football-wise as well with his speed and his work ethic," North football coach Jeremy Dombek said. "There's no doubt in my mind that he's a Division I player." His gridiron heroics and unlimited potential drew the attention of several college coaches. Salaam ultimately committed to play football at Northeastern Oklahoma State, where he plans to study business and accounting. After the football season ended, Salaam joined the North basketball team. He played a reserve role for the Huskies, who fell to the eventual Class 6A state champion Tulsa Memorial in the regional tournament. Many have been pleasantly surprised by Salaam's athletic ability and competitive nature. But one person, not amazed by his feats, is Salaam's mother Marcia Land, who was also a gifted track star in a very athletic family. Salaam's grandfather ran track and trained for the Olympics, his father earned a track scholarship at Grambling State, and his uncle Chuck Carr was a professional baseball player. "It's like the movie, "The Natural." He has that natural ability, it's a gift from God, he was born to run," Land said. Coupled with his athletic ability, Salaam has also developed into a strong individual, and avoided many negative influences that surrounded him during much of his childhood. His mother said she has worked hard to instill strong values in her children, and is proud of the way Salaam has grown as a young man. "A lot of things were pulling at him, and once he got in his head that I don't have to be like that, he has had a lot of success," Land said. "I felt like even if he was in a negative environment, he would remain positive, and if he wants anything he'll have to work for it." Lisa Peterson and her husband did not know the Salaam-Land family very well, but she was impressed the first time she met Salaam. "I met him one day and I thought this kid is so polite, you don't see that in young men," Peterson said. "Thank god he was in the car that day with my son, or we'd never have this time with him, I just can't say enough about him." Mookie lived with the Petersons for eight months, and returned to live with is mother and stepfather, after his 18th birthday in April. The two families remain very close and both will enjoy watching Mookie continue stand out from the crowd. "For them to open the door that was such a blessing," Land said. "Now we're family, all of us."