Mikayla pearce (2012)

 Natural born-talent combined with dedication and perseverance are exactly the qualities that have turned dreams to reality for Mikayla Pearce. Beginning in club gymnastics at age 10, Mikayla eventually recognized her love for competition, fostering dreams of improving her athletic talent to qualify for competition at higher levels; however, she didn’t realize that she wouldn’t be doing so in gymnastics, but in track and field. 

In 2007, Pearce signed up for varsity track and field after being encouraged to do so by her 7th grade science teacher, Jill Darling, who was also the coach for the track and field team. During her first season, Pearce primarily focused on short sprints and long jump. To conclude her first season, she competed in the 100m dash at the ECIC meet, but was underwhelmed by the sport as a whole.

During the indoor 2007-08 season, Pearce agreed to sign up for the indoor track and field team and give the sport another chance. After averaging around 12 foot jumps during the first season, she unexpectedly pulled off a 15-11 foot jump in one of the first meets of the season and put her name into the Maryvale Track and Field record books for the first time. Pearce continued to improve; she took 2nd place at indoor sectionals, qualifyingher as the youngest competitor at the indoor state meet for the 2007-08 year. She concluded her season with a personal best of 16-10 ¾.

During the outdoor season, Pearce improved to jumping 17-11 ½. At sectionals, she jumped 17-2, securing second place, but was knocked to third during the finals,eliminating her from competing at the NYSPHSAA meet. 

During the 2008-09 indoor season, she had qualified for NYS Indoor T&F Championships, and participated in the Indoor NSIC National Championships. Coach Darling began experimenting with Pearce’s athleticism, introducing her to triple jump, pole vault, and high jump. Pearce took  first place in the triple jump and second in long jump at Outdoor Sectionals, qualifying her for the state meet once again. Pearce jumped a personal best in both events at states, placing third in the long jump with 18-11, and fourth in the state for triple with 39-1 ½, which missed the Section 6 record by only ½ of an inch.

During her 2009-10 indoor season, Pearcealso saw improvement in the 55m dash, ending the season with a personal best of 7.28 seconds, and later became the Section Champion with a time of 7.33. At the Indoor Sectional Championship meet, she had also jumped 19-1 in the long jump and 38-5 in triple. As a result, Pearce put her name into the Section 6 record books for triple jump and earned the title of Section Champion in three total events. At the indoor state meet, she won the bronze medal in the long jump, and finished 8th in triple, despite acquiring a leg injury during warmups. 

During the outdoor season, Pearce made her way to the top of the section in the high jump, earning both a personal best and school record of 5-4,and later securing a first place finish at Sectionals. Pearce had defended her title as Section Champion in the triple jump, and had secured the gold in the long jump - earning her the title of Section Champion in three events for the second season in a row. At the state championship meet, Pearce took home the silver medal in long jump and the bronze in triple. During her 10th grade year, she was also recognized as WKBW Super 7 Athlete of the Week and Athlete of the Year for the Cheektowaga Bee. 

During her 11th grade year, Pearce’s focus was locked onto horizontal jumps, allowing her to continue to flourish out on the field. She broke her own Section 6 triple jump record during the indoor season with a jump of 38-10 ½. She defended her section title that season in both long and triple. Moving on to the State Championships, Pearce suffered another leg injury, ending her indoor season with 7th and 8th place finishes in long and triple jumps, respectively. Despite the injury, Pearce went on to conclude her season by competing at the New Balance National Championships. 

Through diligent efforts to rehab her injury between the indoor and outdoor seasons, she successfully defended her section titles in both long and triple jump at Outdoor Sectionals. At the state meet, she unfortunately fouled all three of her jumps in the preliminaries for triple jump. However, Pearce didn’t let this stand in the way of her performance in the long jump, and she was able to bring home the silver medal.

During the 2011-12 indoor season, not only did she break the Section 6 triple jump record for a third time (39-0 ¾), but she had finally broken the Section 6 long jump record with a jump of 19-8; this was a goal she aspired to achieve throughout the duration of her career. After successfully defending her section titles for the third time, she became the New York State Champion for indoor long jump, besting the competition by 10 inches! She was also honored with the New York State Sportsmanship Award. To conclude her season, Pearce competed in long jump at the New Balance Indoor Nationals and took 7th place overall, earning herself the title of All-American. 

Moving outdoors, Pearce maintained her place as top in the section, and knew this year she’d have the opportunity defend her title as State Champion. She was eager to begin the championship season, beginning with the ECIC Championships. During warmups, she felt ready to take on the competition. She began down the runway for her first jump and nailed the takeoff. While completing her in-air mechanics she heard a pop, and grabbed her left leg mid-air, screaming in pain. It was then that Pearce was diagnosed with a severely strained and partially torn hamstring, ending her high school career. 

She finished with: 15 school records, 2 Section records, numerous section titles, a state title, as well as an All-American title. 

Pearce went on to have a very successful college career. Her first year, she competed for Syracuse University. With the Orange, she competed at both indoor and outdoor Big East Championships, despite continuing to battle her hamstring injury. Pearce had faced unexpected adversity during her time with Syracuse, resulting in her decision to return home and put her dreams for track and field on hold. She continued her education at Erie Community College while reaching out to the coach from University at Buffalo who had previously recruited her, Steve Esler. Pearce knew that becoming a Bull would require her to take a leap of faith in terms