Southeast Polk's Abu Sama already broke a nearly 40-year-old state track record. And he's not done yet.

Southeast Polk junior Abu Sama is a bit of a freak athlete.

Just ask his track and field coach, Jason Nolting, or his oldest brother, Amara Sama, who have known Abu Sama was destined for athletic greatness long before the rest of Iowa caught up.

Sama exploded onto the football scene this season. When the Rams’ starting running back, Titus Christiansen, was injured, Sama stepped up and helped Southeast Polk to a state title. A few months later, he continued that success in another sport: track and field.

With Sama competing alongside his football teammates on the Rams’ relay teams, Southeast Polk became an almost unbeatable force in the sprint events. But individually, Sama shined in the long jump. He broke the state record held since 1984 with a jump of 24 feet, 10 inches this season, and he also won the Drake Relays title.

A state record-holder in one sport. A Division I recruit in another.

To those that know him best, Sama’s success is no surprise.

MORE: Southeast Polk beats Ankeny to win highly anticipated football state title game

Turning sibling rivalries into success

When Sama was younger, he tagged along at his older brothers’ workouts. See, Sama is the second-youngest of six brothers, all of whom participated in sports in some capacity. Amara, 33, is the oldest, and he remembers seeing Abu’s potential early on.

“I would go down to Capitol Hill with our brother Gerald to train because it’s this huge hill,” Amara recalled. “Gerald was probably a senior in high school and Abu was in sixth grade. I told him he didn’t have to go all the way up, that he could just chill back while we finished.”

But Abu wasn’t one to hold back, and he definitely wasn’t giving his older brothers a chance to one-up him. So, while Sama’s high-school aged brother caught his breath, Abu made it back up to the top of the hill.

“He has that burning fire. He just wants to be good,” Amara said. “He wants to work hard. He doesn’t stop.”

While having a few older brothers could push any younger sibling to greatness, Abu and Amara have a unique relationship, especially with the younger Sama’s recent success in track and field.

Amara Sama is a name some Iowa State fans might know. He spent two seasons competing for the Cyclones in indoor and outdoor track from 2009-11. As the oldest child, he set the example of how sports could be a gateway to a college education. Amara opened the door for Abu and Gerald, who plays football at Grand View, to seriously pursue sports in a family where academics came first and athletics second.

Amara also found success in Iowa high school track, setting the state record in the 4x100 relay while at Des Moines East. His team’s record has since been beaten, but Abu’s success in the long jump put the Sama name back in the record books.

For Abu, there are perks that come with having an older brother who competed in collegiate athletics. The Sama brothers try to work out together as much as possible, despite the age gap. And Amara’s success in track has pushed Abu to be better.

“When I’m doing track, I definitely try to see if I can beat him in certain things or race against his times in practice,” Sama said.

More: Athletes to watch, team race breakdowns at 2022 Iowa boys state track meet

Sama’s success goes beyond the track

Despite him breaking a record that stood for nearly 40 years, track and field isn’t even the sport Sama sees himself pursuing in college.

Last season, Sama rushed for 931 yards and 12 touchdowns during Southeast Polk football’s state title run. He also recorded 20 solo tackles on defense. The 5-foot-10, 180-pound running back exploded on the scene after Christiansen’s injury.

“I love that he got the opportunity to step up because not many people get that,” Christiansen said. “It was really good for him to just get out there.”

Iowa, Iowa State, Minnesota and Nebraska have shown interest. But even after the Rams brought home the championship trophy, Sama was without any Division I offers. Maybe there’s something about breaking the state long jump record that appealed to other college football programs, because Sama’s recruitment has ignited this spring.

Actually, it’s ignited in the past month.

On April 9, Sama jumped 24-10, breaking the state record held by Davenport Central’s Chris Walker since 1984. Less than a week later, on April 15, Kent State offered him a scholarship in football. Then, three days after a successful outing at the Drake Relays, Southern Illinois and Northern Iowa offered, too.

“It feels good to see that my hard work is paying off and coaches are starting to realize that,” Sama said. “Right now, I’m just trying to not let that get to my head so I can just keep staying focused and wait for more to come.”

More offers should be on the way for Sama, who could project at running back or defensive back in college. With Christiansen graduating this spring and headed to Grand View to play football, Sama will be the Rams' bell cow in the backfield next fall. He’ll be expected to take on an even larger role, and he’ll do it in front of the college coaches that come out to see his five-star offensive lineman teammate, Kadyn Proctor.

More: From underdog to top dog, how Ankeny's Tyrese Miller became a favorite in several events at Iowa state track

How did Southeast Polk’s backup running back elevate his recruiting profile?

While it might seem like college programs are just noticing Sama, his athletic rise didn’t happen overnight.

“He was always the first one to practice, last one there, just always putting the work in,” Christiansen said. “He’s always doing extra drills, extra things just to make not only himself better but the team.”

Amara Sama and Nolting, Abu’s track coach, echoed Christiansen’s sentiment. Amara watched Abu grow up in soccer, football and, eventually, track and field. Nolting has seen Sama grow from an already above-average freshman to a state record-holder.

“He wasn’t your ordinary freshman,” Nolting said. “He was contributing at a very high level right out of the gate. I mean, you could even see it before, when he was in junior high, that he had the ability to be really, really special.”

But for Nolting, it is Sama’s consistency that sets him apart from other athletes on a stacked Southeast Polk roster. As his head coach describes him, Sama isn’t a one-hit wonder. He has multiple jumps over 23 and 24 feet, and his times on the track have improved all season. His success in track and field has set him up for a standout senior season in football, and his coach recognizes that athletes like Sama don’t come around all that often.

“He’s one of the most powerful athletes I’ve seen,” Nolting said. “He’s a rare combination of speed, explosiveness and ability in the jumps and he’s a phenomenal football player too. He just has that special athleticism because it’s not easy to do what he’s done.”

So yes, some of Sama’s success can be attributed to a bit of natural ability. But ask Amara, Nolting or Christiansen, and they’ll all say the same thing: Sama is one of the hardest workers on the track or on the field.

More: Who will be the All-Iowa boys track athlete of the year? These 10 candidates have emerged

For Sama, it all goes back to family

Like Amara, Abu is paving the way for his younger brother, Eddie, to succeed in sports. A sophomore, Eddie will have a chance to fill some big shoes when Abu graduates next spring. But those shoes, according to Nolting, are really big.

“I didn’t coach his older siblings," Nolting said, "but he’s way better than his older brothers.”

Sama has his sights set on some lofty goals for the rest of his time at Southeast Polk. Sure, he’d love to win a state title in the long jump. But his real goal is to jump over 25 feet. In football, he wants to win another state championship. Individually, he wants to improve as a running back and defensive back.

As for college, he’d consider playing both sports if given the opportunity, but football is his top choice. Either way, he already has the opportunity to follow Amara and Gerald’s footsteps in college athletics.

It’ll be a full circle moment for one of the younger Sama brothers, whose sibling rivalries pushed him to become the athlete he is now — the best in the family.

“It’s Abu, and he knows that,” Amara said. “You know, I’m older and Gerald would probably say Gerald. But Abu is doing things that at the same age, we weren’t even doing. There’s been several people in front of him that helped pave the way. But he’s the best. He can get that credit.”

Alyssa Hertel is a college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at ahertel@dmreg.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Southeast Polk Abu Sama is one of Iowa's top football, track athletes