Reebok Top 25 Most Dynamic Athletes: Isaiah Brandt-Sims

Wenatchee, Wash., is an unlikely home for one of the nation's elite multi-sport high school athletes.

A hub for apple, cherry and pear growers, Wenatchee is 150 miles east of Seattle and a bit isolated. It's not quite the middle of nowhere, but aside from summer wildfires or record fruit harvests, not much news emanates from the city of roughly 35,000 residents.

Maybe that's why it's taken a little longer for people to take notice of Wenatchee (Wash.) rising athletic star Isaiah Brandt-Sims.

In June, the 5-foot-11, 185-pound speedster gave a verbal commitment to the Stanford football program. Brandt-Sims put plenty of good film together for the Cardinal staff during the second half of his junior year, where he rushed for nearly 1,000 yards during a dominant five-game stretch.



Yet he is even more accomplished on the track, where he will attempt to become the first sprinter in Washington history to win the 100 and 200 meters four straight years – and he's doing it in the state's largest classification (4A).

Wenatchee isn't the only unlikely aspect of Brandt-Sims' story. He was born premature and entered the world at just 2 pounds, 6 ounces.

"I think about that all the time," said Isaiah's mom, Tracy Brandt. "He was such a small preemie and we are really grateful that he has been able to have so much success. We definitely never forget where he came from."

Tracy is a story in her own right, a single mom of two (along with Isaiah's younger brother Christian) who worked her way through law school at Gonzaga University and now practices with two brothers locally in the Brandt Law Firm, specializing in family law, criminal defense and personal injury.

See the special Isaiah Brandt-Sims photo gallery

This time next year, Tracy will be sending her oldest off to one of the nation's most prestigious academic institutions.



"She means the world to me," Brandt-Sims said of his mom. "She has helped me with everything in my life and put me on a track for success in everything I do. She pretty much introduced me to all the sports I've played and pushed me along and wouldn't allow me to fail."

Through his success, Wenatchee has served as insulation from the trappings of being a teenage athletic phenom. Media coverage of his exploits has been limited. He doesn't make announcements or attempt to "build his brand" via social media. He's well-known and admired locally, but it's a healthy level of attention.

"He's pretty quiet and shy and likes his comfort zone of being in a small town," Tracy said. "He's not real showy or mouthy, he just kind of does what he does."

"It helps keeps me humble," Brandt-Sims said of his hometown. "I get some attention around here but it's not like you are a god or anything."

Brandt-Sims hasn't shied away from competing outside of central Washington, hitting the football camp and combine circuit and training regularly with former Washington State University basketball-football star Mike Bush. He's also attended major track meets in Oregon and the Puget Sound. The prestigious Arcadia Inviational in California is on the wish list for next spring.

See all the Reebok Dynamic Athletes



"I realized pretty early that I needed to take him out of Wenatchee," Tracy said. "It was important for him to see who he is competing with for a scholarship and where the competition is. Not that we don't have talent here, but it's a bigger pool when you go to the west side of the state and other places."
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Hometown: Wenatchee, Wash.

School: Wenatchee High School (enrollment 2,079)

Big Brother: Isaiah will team up with younger brother Christian – a rising sophomore – on the Panthers varsity football team this fall. The two teamed up on the Wenatchee 4x400 meter relay team in track last spring.

"I'd get really nervous and tense up and I would look over at him and he would be so calm," Christian said of his big brother.

Due to their two-year age difference, Isaiah and Christian have limited experience competing together – aside from a brief but dominant stint as linemen on a pee wee football team. There have been a few of adversarial moments, identifying laptops and foam swords as objects they have broke hitting each other with.

Christian is a promising-looking young athlete in his own right. He's all of 6-foot-2 already and is expected to be a threat at the wide receiver position for Wenatchee this season.



Mr. Digital: How dynamic is Brandt-Sims? In addition to being the face of the Panthers football program, he also had a leading hand in creating the team's website. See it here.

Brandt-Sims can see himself pursuing that type of work in the future. He's certainly headed to the right school given Stanford's proximity to Silicon Valley.

"Later on I'd really like to be a game developer or create apps," Brandt-Sims. "That is something that really interests me."

Not a soccer guy: Brandt-Sims has found success with virtually every sport he has tried his hand at. In addition to football and track and field, he was a dominant wrestler as a youth and played basketball as a freshman and sophomore at Wenatchee High.

Soccer was another story.

"Once I figured out there were rules, I wasn't so good at that," Brandt-Sims joked.

Favorite athletes: When asked about his athletic role models, Brandt-Sims went off the board. Not LeBron James. Not Adrian Peterson. Not beloved Seahawks Marshawn Lynch or Russell Wilson.



Instead, he opted for former Wenatchee football/track and field standouts and twin brothers Jacob and Lucas Sealby. The Sealby twins moved on to Washington State, where they have continued competing in both sports.

"I always looked up to them," Brandt-Sims said. "They were really hard workers."
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After a disappointing 1-4 start last fall, Brandt-Sims went on a tear to help Wenatchee win its last five games. The Panthers averaged 38 points per game in the process. He was named Columbia Basin Big Nine Conference Offensive Player of the Year for his efforts.

Expectations are high heading into 2013. Christian joins Isaiah on the varsity team and the Panthers should be tough up front with two-way standout Jakob Stoll and 6-7 junior Trey Adams, who has already given a verbal commitment to the University of Washington.

A look at Brandt-Sims' gridiron highlights:

* Despite missing time with injuries, he ran for 1,400 yards and 20 touchdowns (a school record) on 187 carries as a junior en route to league MVP honors. Also caught 21 passes for 317 yards and five scores.

* He helped get Wenatchee's five-game win streak rolling with 109 yards and two touchdowns in a 34-9 win over Eisenhower (Yakima) in early October.



* He needed just 16 carries to amass 289 yards and four scores on the ground in a 53-10 win over A.C. Davis (Yakima). Brandt-Sims scored on runs of 80, 52 and 55 yards.

* He piled up 259 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries in a 48-20 win over Moses Lake.

* He scored the only touchdown of the game in a 7-0 late October win over bitter rival Eastmont, which had whipped the Panthers 34-14 earlier in the season.

* He tallied 230 total yards – including 183 on the ground – with three touchdowns in season finale, a 48-6 win over Sunnyside.

* He is expected to play a hybrid role in the Stanford offense. According to Brandt-Sims, head coach David Shaw and staff liken him to current Cardinal junior Kelsey Young, who is listed as both a running back and wide receiver on the program's roster.
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It doesn't take much verbiage to encapsulate how special Brandt-Sims has been for the Wenatchee track and field team. Next spring he has a chance to become the first sprinter in state history to win both the 100 and 200 meters in four straight years.

"That would mean a lot," Brandt-Sims admitted. "Hopefully I can go out there and do it one more time."



Brandt-Sims has rewritten the sprint record books in Washington. Here's a deeper look at his storied run in the Evergreen State:

* He owns the 100 meters junior (personal best 10.48 at the prestigious Pasco Invitational) and sophomore (10.64) state records. He also held the freshman record until Bellevue's Isaiah Gilchrist came along and posted a 10.78 last spring. Former Washington Husky and Olympian Ja'Warren Hooker holds the all-time state record with a 10.27 in 1997.

* He holds 200 meters sophomore (21.24) and freshman (21.43) state records. He also holds the freshman record in the 400 (48.50), though he hasn't run that event regularly.

* As a sophomore he led Wenatchee to a fourth place team finish by winning the 100 (10.82) and 200 (21.74), while anchoring the 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams to appearances in the finals.

* He helped the Panthers take second at the 2013 4A state meet by three-peating in 100 (10.71) and 200 (21.48). Also led both relay teams to top five finishes.

* He appeared on the DyeStat Elite 100 in both the 100 and 200 last spring and hopes to compete in Arcadia Invitational in California as a senior.
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