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Fort Recovery senior Mara Pearson, seated second from right, will attend Marshall University and compete on the Thundering Herd's track and field team. Seated with Mara are, from left, Push Athletics club coach Dakei Patterson, Fort Recovery head track coach Christy Diller and Fort Recovery jump and sprints coach Charlie Vasey. Standing from left are Mara's brother Clayton Pearson, sister Brooke Gaerke, brother Ross Pearson, mother Beth Pearson and father Steve Pearson. Photo courtesy of Fort Recovery High School.
In her first three trips to state in the long jump, Mara Pearson has moved up steadily in the standings.
Before the Fort Recovery senior heads to NCAA Division I Marshall University next season to compete in track and field, Pearson is hoping to take one more step.
"One of their assistant coaches followed me on Instagram, then they messaged me after my outdoor season," said Pearson, who will major in electrical engineering. "Ever since then, they asked for a phone call and got me on campus towards the start of the school year. I just fell in love with the place."
Located in Huntington, West Virginia, Marshall is a member of the Sun Belt Conference. The Thundering Herd finished seventh at the Sun Belt Outdoor Championships last spring.
"They just got a brand new coaching staff," said Pearson. "The head coach (Keith Roberts, who comes to Marshall after coaching Eastern Illinois) is from Bellefontaine, which is pretty neat to see. They have high goals for the team and I love the direction they're going in. They're very honest and fluent with my goals and what they want me to accomplish. That was very nice to talk to a team that is very fluent in showing their flaws."
Pearson is glad to have the college decision out of the way as she prepares for her final season on the track.
"It's extremely important," said Pearson. "Actually I was texting my indoor club team coach and saying 'I just want to commit!' I think it puts a lot of weight off my shoulders and focus on my goals and not certain goals that I think colleges are looking for. I can focus on myself and what I want to accomplish."
Pearson has become one of the top long jumpers in the state, thanks in part to the heavy competition she has faced in Midwest Athletic Conference competition, most notably fellow 2023 All-Ohio Izzy Zahn of Coldwater. Last season she won her second straight long jump title and set the conference record with a leap of 17 feet, 11 1/2 inches.
Pearson has qualified for state in her first three years. As a freshman she reached the top nine to advance to the finals, but could not move up into the top eight that earn a podium spot. Her sophomore season, she earned All-Ohio honors with a seventh-place showing. Last season, Pearson came within 3/4 of an inch of winning a state title, finishing second after topping out at 18-5 with Lucas' Shelby Grover winning with a top effort of 18-5 3/4. Grover and third- and fourth-place finishers Olivia Stolly of LCC and Auhdra Myers of Riverdale graduated last spring.
"I think every year I've learned something new," said Pearson. "Last year was the first season I was truly enjoying state. I didn't care where I would place. I just wanted to be myself."
Pearson also has sprinting experience, finishing fourth at the MAC last spring in the 100-meter dash. Pearson was also part of the 4x100 relay that qualified for state.
"From talking the coaches, the main thing will be doing long jump (and) possibly doing triple jump," said Pearson. "So far, I've been getting faster this year so they said (they could) throw me into a relay or doing some sprints during smaller meets just to experiment a bit."
