Joane Pierre had been there before. Two years ago, the Jacksonville standout led the pack with less than 1000 meters remaining at the A-Sun Cross Country Championship before watching some of her top competitors pass her at the end.
There would be no repeat in 2012 thanks to a bevy of
support and the maturity that comes with being a senior. This time, Pierre
posted the third fastest time in A-Sun history to claim the individual title.
The backbone of that support that carried her to the finish was a family that has seen her race only twice collegiately.
“They don’t get to come to many races so every time I
want to make them proud. It was very, very special,” said Pierre.
Her dad Joannem, mother Chantal and brothers Chanvron and
Nehemiah made the 45-minute trip to the Buckingham Cross Country Course. Their
visit started great as Pierre took an early lead and finished even better when
she crossed the finish line nearly six seconds ahead of the next runner.
“We knew when FGCU was going to be the host we were already
talking about all the people that could be out here to support Joane.,” said
head coach Ron Grigg. “I hoped it wasn’t going to create any additional
pressure and it certainly did not. She was really looking forward to having her
family see her today and she did not disappoint.”
While she made it look easy, there were plenty of
challenges on the course, most notably in North Florida’s Shelby Kittrell who
followed closely behind Pierre the whole race and the team champion Lipscomb
who is known for its ability to run as a pack and overtake competitors.
“I heard them coming behind me as a pack. I knew they
were there and that I needed to run intelligently no matter who came to compete
with me today. It was all about running and competing,” reflected Pierre.
Despite the challenges, Pierre had a clear plan coming in
and executed it flawlessly.
“As a runner, you don’t control how others run. You
control how you run. I didn’t want to run based on how everyone else was
running but on how I felt,” stated Pierre. “The amount of people that came to
support me was ridiculous. I knew my family was coming but I had old high
school coaches and administrators here and a lot of people that saw me compete
from the beginning to now. I knew I had to give it my all. It was a finish for
me. I started with these people and finished with my last A-Sun meet.”
She must have felt great because it resulted in a perfect ending.
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