Earlier this year, a 22-year-old athlete donning orange turned heads when she zoomed down the tracks in Gainesville. And that was none other than the Tennessee senior Jacious Sears! That lightning-fast 10.77 sprint made her the speediest 100m woman this season and second to Sha’Carri Richardson’s long-standing collegiate record by a mere 0.02 seconds. This announced that another prodigy had burst onto the fierce athletic stage.

Moreover, Sears was even named the USTAF Athlete of the Week, followed by her debut on the Bowerman Watchlist. But while the world was only seeing her rise to the limelight, one man had practically steered her to this glory. And that was her 51-year-old visionary coach. Let’s take a look.

All about Jacious Sears’ coach

As per Olympics.com, Jacious Sears trains under the supervision of Duane Ross. He happens to be the Head Coach and the Director of Track & Field at the University of Tennessee and has held this position since May 2022. Consequently, he has been in charge of overseeing both the men’s and women’s track and field programs for this college. But while this is Ross’ second season here, he is backed by over a two-decade-long coaching and athletic profile.

Previously, Ross was positioned at the helm of athletics at North Carolina A&T, as their Director of Track and Field for 10 years, 2012-2022. His generous efforts during this tenure seemed to have materialized into stunning results. To mention a few, Ross mentored the Aggies to 9 top-10 team finishes at either the NCAA indoor or outdoor meets.

Moreover, during his tenure, they bagged 16 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference titles. Not just that, his son Randolph Ross Jr. and a fellow athlete Trevor Stewart clinched gold at the Tokyo Olympics, in the men’s 4×400-meter relay category. Ross, the 2021 National Coach of the Year, had previously even led Methodist University for 4 years as their Head Coach.

This was after he completed a year as a Volunteer Assistant Coach at Clemson in 1996, preceded by another four years of competing for the side as a collegiate athlete. Just like his athletes, Ross tasted success during his athletic odyssey, too. He won seven All-America certificates, was a five-time Atlantic Coast Conference champion, and 110-meter hurdles champ at the 1995 NCAA Outdoor Championships.

As the newest face of Nike, he even debuted at the 2004 Athens Olympics in the 110-meter hurdles. With such a versatile track record, it is needless to say that Jacious Sears is being led by a fitting mentor. Besides, this is something that the track star herself has agreed to a couple of times.

It was Sears’ dream to be coached by Duane Ross

Not many know, before the 2023-2024 season, Jacious Sears was an athlete at Miami. But despite her brimming potential, she had remained unsuccessful at making it to a NCAA Championship. However, it was an instinct that guided her to go the Tennessee way, or rather the Duane Ross way. As per Track and Field news, Ross was a fundamental motivating factor for her to switch to Knoxville.

She once recalled, “When I was in high school, I remember watching [10.95 performer] Kayla White…. Seeing that she was coached by Coach Ross, seeing her progression, it was all so inspiring.” Naturally, Duane Ross’ pupils have shown trajectories that are too good to be overlooked. Thus, Sears confessed, “Definitely coach Ross was the biggest reason, the No. 1 reason why I came to Tennessee…” 

The Palm Beach Gardens native agrees that transitioning from Miami to Tennessee was a world of a difference. But it has made an indelible impact. She remarked, “And then there comes the coaching. It’s a whole 180, a whole switch. My mindset has changed since being here. And my coaches are literally the biggest reason for that. They literally coach not only physically, like workouts, but they also coach your mind. The transition, it’s been really good….” 

The outcome of the changed mentorship has been evident in Sears’ recent ascent. Thus, the question remains, can she keep channeling Ross’ guidance effectively to her benefit? Let us know what you think.