Sprinter Sarah Peirce has been named one of the OUA's Women of Influence for her successes on the track and in the classroom. Photo courtesy.

Mike Treadgold

Turn your head and you might miss Sarah Peirce’s entire event. Her races are won and lost in a matter of hundredths of a second.

The fifth-year sprinter is lightning fast and one of the country’s top short distance runners, excelling in the 60m indoor event where she won OUA gold and a silver medal at the CIS track and field championships this season.

And for her outstanding efforts, both on the track and in the classroom, Peirce was recently named one of the OUA’s Women of Influence, included in a group of outstanding female student-athletes who will be honoured by the league on April 30.

In addition to her All-Canadian running accomplishments, Peirce is also a top student who will begin her graduate studies in the university’s geographical information studies program in the fall. The nomination for OUA honours came as a result of her President’s Trophy award that she won last year as the university’s top female student-athlete.

“The award really came as a surprise. I didn’t know too much about it and it was a bit of a shock,” said Peirce. “Winning the President’s award last year was exciting and it’s nice to receive honours for both [academics and athletics]. There are some pretty amazing women involved with this award and I’m really proud and excited.”

On a team that is often known for its group of national class distance runners, Peirce’s strength in the short distance races places her in a unique situation. While so many of her teammates focus their attention on endurance and positioning, Peirce’s game is about straight speed and explosiveness; her races start and finish in less than eight seconds.

“I really don’t think the distance runners and the sprinters have much in common,” said Peirce, in terms of comparative workout routines. “There’s not a lot of overlap.”

Despite being in a student in Guelph for five years, Peirce has only used four of her five years of athletic eligibility, having been injured in her first year. Looking to maximize her varsity opportunities, Peirce will return to the track next year while working on her Master’s degree. As she has become one of the senior members of the team and a captain, she has embraced a leadership role for the other athletes.

Peirce now holds the Gryphons all-time record in the 60m distance after finishing in 7.45 seconds in her silver medal performance at CIs. Recording a sub-7.5 second time was unequivocally the highlight of her season and the very mention of that CIS race filled Peirce with excitement.

“I was going into CIs hoping to get a personal best, which was a sub-7.5 second run,” she said. “At the beginning of the year, my personal best was 7.6 and breaking that was the biggest barrier for me this year.

“Breaking that 7.6 second time – I can’t even explain how it felt. I hadn’t had a personal best in more than a year, and then every meet after that, I kept shaving off more time leading up to CIs.”

And for Peirce, her Gryphon career has been excellence on the track and influence throughout the league.