Track in his blood, and now, his heart, too
Jack Pierce and his wife were "cringing." They wanted their son Sterling to return to the sport of track and field. They knew it was "in his blood." They knew he could flourish.
Jack Pierce and his wife were "cringing."
They wanted their son Sterling to return to the sport of track and field. They knew it was "in his blood." They knew he could flourish.
They also knew it had to be his decision.
"It has to be something you do with joy, from your heart," said Jack Pierce, a bronze medalist in the 110-meter hurdles at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona.
Sterling Pierce knew his father and mother, Marva, wanted to see him on the track. He knew they were "dropping hints" without pushing too hard.
"They let it be up to me," Sterling Pierce said. "They didn't pressure me."
Sterling Pierce, a senior at Rancocas Valley, might be the fastest sprinter in the state. But he took his sweet time in getting back to the track.
Pierce enters this weekend's Group 4 state championships at Egg Harbor Township as the top seed in both the 100 meters and 200 meters, as well as a member of the third-seeded 4x100 relay team.
Pierce is coming off a sensational performance at the South Jersey Group 4 championships. He won the 100 in 10.72 seconds - the fastest time in the state this year - and the 200 in 21.66 seconds in leading Rancocas Valley to the program's first sectional team title since 1977.
"I'm a competitive person," Sterling Pierce said. "Everything I do, I want to be the best."
On one hand, Pierce's success makes perfect sense. His father, a 1980 Woodbury High School graduate, is one of the most accomplished track athletes in South Jersey history. His mother excelled at the sport at Adelphi University.
On the other hand, Pierce's career path is remarkable. He gave up track as a 9-year-old, preferring to focus on lacrosse in the spring. He didn't return to track until his junior year at Rancocas Valley.
"I thought lacrosse was going to be my sport," Sterling Pierce said. "All my friends decided to play lacrosse and that's what I wanted to do.
"I wasn't really that big into track. I wanted to do something else."
Jack Pierce wondered if his success in the sport put "a lot of pressure" on his son. He said he and his wife were determined not to browbeat their boy into trying to follow his father's footsteps.
"We wanted to let him pursue other things," Jack Pierce said. "We wanted him to run track. We were cringing and sometimes we'd be whispering, 'Try track, try track.'
"But we let him come back to it in his time. I coach a lot of youth track. I see a lot of these kids. I know the love of the sport has to come from them."
Rancocas Valley coach Jeff Dzuranin became the Red Devils' coach in 2013, when Sterling Pierce was a sophomore lacrosse player.
"His parents really let Sterling do his thing, which you very rarely see," Dzuranin said. "They've been so supportive. His dad has so much knowledge of the sport and had so much success but never pressured Sterling."
Sterling Pierce put together a strong junior season. He was third in the 200 meters and fifth in the 100 meters at the sectionals and took second in the 200 in 22.53 at the Group 4 state meet.
But his breakthrough came in the winter, when he won the 200 at the indoor Meet of Champions in 22.20.
"All it takes is one good run," Jack Pierce said. "Then you start realizing what you can do and start working even harder on the little things to see where it will take you."
Sterling Pierce's strong indoor season led to a scholarship offer from Villanova. He will join the Wildcats' prestigious program next year.
"My wife and I call it the trifecta - great academics, great track program, great proximity," Jack Pierce said of Villanova.
Sterling Pierce has continued to improve during the outdoor season, Dzuranin said. Pierce entered the season known mostly as a 200-meter man, but his 10.72 time in the 100 at the sectional meet heralded his potential as a short sprinter.
"I think he's going to keep improving by leaps and bounds," Dzuranin said. "He hasn't run much. He doesn't have much tread on his tires."
Sterling Pierce wants to make the most of these last moments of his high school career. He knows that, in a sense, he's making up for lost time.
But he also knows that his future in track is spread out before him like the long lane as he settles in the blocks for the start of the 200 meters.
"I still have a long way to go in the sport," Pierce said. "I'm still learning some things, like the proper way to start and little things like that.
"I haven't been doing track for that long. I feel like I have a lot of upside."
@PhilAnastasia
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