STARKVILLE — It didn’t even feel like his best attempt.

In January, at the Jimmy Carnes Invitational in Gainesville, Starkville High School track and field senior Sterling Scott got ready to attempt the triple jump.

Facing off against a national field of athletes, the competition was stacked, but he pulled off one of the best jumps of his career, a 47-foot, 9.25-inch result, that catapulted him into a medal position.

Not only did Scott finish second at the event, but he broke a Mississippi indoor record in the process — a new best in the indoor triple jump — and rebroke the previous record he held by over a foot.

“The funny thing is for me, that felt like a disappointing meet,” Scott said. “I felt like I messed up my jumps, but I didn’t know that I had the record. It was pretty cool knowing I have the indoor record.”

From breaking records to winning state and individual championships, Scott is setting new standards for himself and the rest of the state, and he’s really done all of this since his sophomore year.

However, it was his junior year when things took off at a stratospheric pace.

“Once I hit that north state meet my junior year, I immediately knew that this was going to be my sport, this was going to be my profession,” Scott said. “It seemed like a mistake actually. I came down the runway and hit the board with the wrong foot, and I’m five feet further than I was ever jumping. 

“I knew from that day on that it’s never going to be the same. I’m going to put my heart into this sport now, and this was going to be my path.”

Beginning his high school career, Scott balanced both track and field and soccer, prioritizing soccer, but after his sophomore year, he went back to the sport with full focus and has truly taken off with it.

Scott comes from a family of track stars. His parents, Colleen and Andre, both met and jumped at Auburn and have continued to stay close with the sport since college.

Being around Sterling has made it that much easier to do so, with Colleen regularly out at Starkville practices helping out athletes on the team and Andre helping out outside Starkville while balancing his time as an assistant track coach at Ole Miss.

“We encouraged him to give track another chance,” Colleen said. “You want them to choose, but you see things in them that you hope they see in themselves. I feel like as a parent, it’s up to me to encourage them in a certain direction and just explore it, and they can decide afterwards.

“… We just have tried to straighten out a few things, get him in shape and try to fix some technical stuff.”

Track and field, especially in the Southeastern Conference, runs deep in the family, and it was only fitting that in December, Scott decided to take his talents to arguably the best collegiate track and field conference in the country, signing with Missouri.

Being there put everything in perspective to him and the pitch that the coaching staff in Columbia made to him was something he couldn’t pass up. Not only that, but the academic standard at Mizzou was a big sticking point for him as well.

“I really felt at home,” Scott said. “I could tell that the coaches and staff, they wanted me there. All of the coaches were really friendly, and they wanted to pull me in. I felt really comfortable. The team itself, they looked really motivated. Each individual, they bring all of it to every single practice, and they’re very serious about their craft. 

“I want to surround myself with people who want to be great, and Mizzou just seemed like the perfect choice for that.”

Now entering his final outdoor season with the Yellow Jackets, the gas pedal is at 110 percent as Scott looks to set more records and meet goals for himself every time he steps on the track.

Alongside his success with results, he’s become a leader among the other athletes on the track team, and that’s been something that’s seen a lot of growth over the past year as Scott has worked his way up the rankings nationally and the rungs in Starkville.

“He’s one of the leaders of our team,” Starkville head coach Tory Reeves said. “He’s just always working hard at what he does, but definitely leads by example and lets the other guys know the work it takes to get the results that he gets.”

This is all shaping up well to what is expected to be a great season for Starkville track and field and for Scott individually. 

His goal has remained the same since last season and is the same goal he puts forth in practice — making every jump his best.

The standard has already been set, so breaking records is the only way to set a new one.

“I really want to repeat what I did last year and come home with more than two medals this year,” Scott said. “I also want to break the state meet record, which I was a half-inch short of last year. 

“I just want to be the best I can be, break PRs by a lot and win.”