There were early signs that LCA sophomore Dana Mercer would be a force in outdoor track at the state level for years to come.
As a freshman, she got her feet wet at the VIS meet, placing second in the long jump, third in the 100-meter dash and fourth in the 200.
One year later, Mercer was in form after a successful indoor season, and her experience from her first go-around at the VIS meet paid off.
Mercer — The News & Advance All-Area girls outdoor track and field athlete of the year — won three state championships and helped the Bulldogs to a third-place finish.
“My coaches really helped me with my form, especially with standing straight up, and that made me faster throughout the season,” Mercer said. “That’s how I improved.”
Mercer grew up around the sport and has run competitively since the fifth grade. Her parents were both track and field coaches at her school in Florida before the family moved to Lynchburg.
So it’s no surprise that Mercer would find early success. And her accomplishments this outdoor season only make her hungrier.
“It gives me a lot of motivation,” she said.
“It makes me what to be a state champion all the time, in whatever I do.”
Mercer said her favorite events are the 100 and the long jump, adding that she spends very little time working on the triple jump.
During her freshman year, she fouled out of the triple jump finals at the VIS meet. This season, she won the state championship with a jump of 34 feet, 7¼ inches.
Not bad for someone who doesn’t consider the triple jump to be one of her stronger events.
Mercer knocked nearly a full second off her 100 time. She finished third as a freshman in 13.25 seconds. Her state-meet winning time as a sophomore: 12.38.
She said the goal next season is to whittle that time down even more, into the “low 12s or high 11s.”
“I think the biggest key was me getting my hips aligned so I stood straight up,” Mercer said. “Before, I was leaning over more.
“Now that I’m standing straight up, I’ve improved a lot.”
In the fall, Mercer is a
setter for Liberty Christian’s volleyball team. That’s just something to stay busy until track season begins in the
winter, though.
She said she’s dreamed all of her life of competing in the Olympics.
She wants to compete in track and field in college. But before that, Mercer and the rest of a young LCA girls team that featured no juniors or seniors have plenty more goals to accomplish.
And more state championships to win.
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