This past weekend was bittersweet for Derica Pitters. After a long track and field campaign that began at this past December’s Jim McKay Memorial at The Armory, and ended at this past weekend’s USATF National Junior Olympic Championships in Fitchburg, MA Pitters has mixed feeling about finally being able to take a break from running.

“I’ve been training really hard during the indoor and outdoor seasons and I’m proud of all that I’ve accomplished,” said Pitters. “I love running, but after putting in all of that work, it’s nice having some time to relax.”

The rising senior from DeWitt Clinton HS fought through windy, rainy conditions at the Junior Olympic Championships to place sixth in the 1,500m 17-18 division with a time of 4:57.46. Adrena Mazzei of Tulsa, Okla., who crossed the puddled finish line in 4:42.12, won the race.

Pitters recalls first becoming interested in running at the age of 12. She then lived in Trelawny Parsij, Jamaica, and like most Jamaican runners, started out as a sprinter. She aspired to be like her cousin, Sherone Simpson, whose earned three Olympic medals in the sprints, but Pitters’ asthma forced her to move up in distance.

Despite sprinting being in her blood, Pitters is happy to call herself a distance runner, and now aspires to be like Genzebe Dibaba, who recently broke the1,500m world record with a time of 3:50.07.

Besides catching up on missed Netflix episodes, Pitters will spend the remainder of her summer receiving math and English tutoring through the Armory College Prep program, which helps New York City students prepare for college.  

After moving from Jamaica to New York in 2013, Pitters admits that she's growing weary of the cold winters and hopes to run for a college in the southeast. She would, however, miss taking the subway and long runs through Van Cortlandt Park.

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More on Armory College Prep: http://www.armory.nyc/armory-college-prep/