PORTAGE — Althea Brown knew what she was doing when she named her only child Antoine Lamar Star Brown.
Seventeen-plus years after the beaming baby boy was born at an Army base in Stuttgart, Germany, he has lived up to second part of his middle name.
“When I looked at him for the first time, he was my star,” Althea said.
Perhaps the best high school running back in Indiana, the junior at Portage also is a phenom in track. He’ll head to Saturday’s state finals in Bloomington as a title hopeful in the 100 and 200 meters.
Brown has traveled far and wide to become a regional champion in the shortest of sprinting races. He’s lived around the world, from Germany to Washington state, back to Deutschland, back to Washington and finally settling in Northwest Indiana.
Even in the region, Brown has been mobile, moving from Gary to Merrillville to Portage, where he’s lived for the past year.
Through all his travels, Brown has never met his father, Keith. The only constant in his life has been Althea.
“She’s a person that has been there for me since I was young,” Brown said. “When I’m down, she’s always pulled me up. She’s a person that will always be there for me when I make mistakes.”
On playing surfaces, Brown rarely has miscues.
In his first season of varsity action this year, the Post-Tribune’s offensive player of the year rushed for an astronomical 2,039 yards and 32 touchdowns. He’s already drawn interest from Ohio State, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin and Miami, Ohio.
In track, he was undefeated in the 100 and 200 throughout middle school and helped Merrillville consistently win the 400 relay as a freshman and sophomore.
This season, the 5-11, 180-pound block of chiseled muscle claimed his second straight Duneland Conference and sectional crowns in both events. He corralled the 100 and 200 at the Portage Regional as well, prevailing in times of 10.75 and 21.89, respectively.
“It’s such a rush to watch him because he’s so good,” said Brown’s girlfriend, Portage senior Krystal
Rigoni.
Portage boys track coach John Kappes knew what Brown was capable of after seeing him at Merrillville. But, in order for Brown — nicknamed “P-Town Brown” — to earn a blue ribbon at state, Kappes said he had to take the junior’s training an extra step.
“From our first indoor session in January, every practice every day has been a stepping stone to that goal,” Kappes said. “To his credit, he’s obviously made some adjustments that are paying off in track. That’s such a great reward to see.
“Hopefully, we’re not done yet.”
Althea said her son has never mentioned the possibility of winning state. But she said Brown has been running with supreme confidence this year.
“You can just see it in his body,” she said.
Althea graduated from Indianapolis Arlington High School in 1980 and played basketball at the University of Evansville for one season before deciding to join the Army.
“I wanted to see the world,” said Althea, who became a staff sergeant.
Five years later, she met Brown’s father in Germany, where he was later born, but two months later, Althea was transferred to Tacoma, Wash. She and Brown spent two months in Washington before returning to Germany. By the time of their arrival, Brown’s father had transferred elsewhere.
Althea said she has tried to find Brown’s dad. At one point she even called the Red Cross and the Montel Williams Show for help.
“But Antoine has done real great without meeting him,” Althea said.
If Brown has one father figure, it’s Althea’s brother, Carlos, who lives in Indianapolis. Carlos once unsuccessfully tried out for the 1988 Olympics in the 110 hurdles. Carlos tries to visit his nephew three times a month to help him with propelling from the starting blocks and his running technique.
“He’s learning about life as he’s learning about his sport,” Carlos said. “He realizes the end result is a direct result of the effort he puts in.”
Althea found a home in Gary, where she has family members.They stayed in Gary until Brown’s sixth-grade year. They moved to Merrillville and then to Portage because their neighborhoods were “getting bad,” Althea said.
Brown said he’s comfortable in Portage and feels accepted in the school since Day 1. He’s hoping to make the B Honor Roll a second consecutive semester.
Brown said he spends his limited free time playing video games, especially Madden NFL 2004, and he isn’t a social person, saying that “I really don’t talk that much.”
Althea said she’s the same way. In fact, she and Brown have many duplicate traits, from their shyness to their way of speaking.
“I can see he’s a lot like his mom,” Rigoni said. “I’ll hear her say things, and he’ll say the exact same thing.”
Carlos said, “If they were not mom and son, they would be sister and brother. They have been one another’s life, and they motivate one another.
“My sister makes a concerted effort to try and motivate and direct Antoine’s future, and at the same time, he has been the driving force for her.”
Althea works nights at an so she can see her son during the day. And she knows he is preparing to enter college. She understands she’s going to have to loosen her motherly grip.
“The most scary thing is actually letting him go,” Althea said. “I don’t want to, but I know I have to.”
It won’t be easy, but Althea will let go of Brown, allowing the opportunity for her Star to shine elsewhere.
