By Patricia Powell, Trackalerts.Com Contributor
Sharica Diana Moulton, born February 1, 1993 is a one 100m and 200m runner. She is the first of five children for her mother and has been doing track and field from as early as primary school as it was, and still is her desire to prove that her talent will be a break through. Her best achievements were as a result of Maurice Wilson’s training program at Holmwood Technical, where she represented the country and made the school proud on several occasions. She is now at The Mico University College where she majors in Physical Education and is a part of the track and field program.
What brought her into track and field?
It was when she started Servite Primary school where track and field became a picture in her life. She started on her own as the sport seemed interesting to her and was motivated by other athletes.
“I watched the elite athletes perform annually and wanted to be like them one day,” she said. “So I think starting at that time was the best thing to do.”
According to her, 100m was the best event as it finished real quickly and one day she might be named the fastest woman in the world. It was when she started to show her talent towards the sport, that her parents to started to show interest in her passion and invested in her.
“My father is one of the main reasons for my achievement as he would check up on me and how well I’m doing, so I did not want to disappoint him,”she explained.
The next step towards track and field
Coming out of primary school as a high achiever in the sport, many coaches were hungry to assist her in training. According to her St. Jago and Manchester High School were of the best interest due to the level of education that the institutions offered. However, due to the fact that her father and Murice Wilson (then head coach of Holmwood Technical high School) were close friends, Holmwood became her choice.
“Annastasia Leroy was also a big impact of me going to Holmwood as she convinced me that it is the best school for any future athlete,” said Sherica.
Sherica Moulton became a known name throughout the school’s population as well as in the media. Sherica explained that Mr. Wilson is the best coach ever and he is the reason for most of her success “He motivated me, he pushed me, and he assisted me in all means through high school.”
Her achievements during high school
Sherica received two silver medals at the first championship at the high school level in both 100m and 200m. Moving on to her first year in class 3 she was 5th in the 100m where the most experienced athletes ran the 200m. In 2008 she was placed 2nd and 4th in the 100m and 200m respectively. She moved on to her first year in class 2 where she was 3rd in both events. She was a part of the Penn Relay team for three consecutive years which ended in 2011, her last year at the school.
At 15, Shericka made her first CARIFTA team. “I was proud of myself, I did not know what to expect at the games, I wasn’t nervous until I was actually on the track,” she happily said.
She got a silver medal for the country in the 100m and a gold as a part of the 4x100m relay; where she ran the 3rd leg. The same year (2009), she made the world youth team which went to the World Youth Championships that was held in Italy. She was third in the semis and failed to make the finals at the Championships due to a groin injury.
Back at champs, she was 4th in both events for the two final years at Holmwood. According to her, negative feeling started to arise for the sports as personal factors started to develop. She told the media that track and field was not in her intention again as she didn’t have enough time for herself. She finished Holmwood in 2011 even though she had a next chance of running at the championship.
After high school
She ceased going to school and track and field for one year when she found out that she needed to build on her future. That was when she was motivated by her former team mate and writter of this article, who is a student of the Mico University College. According to her, teaching has always been a passion for her, therefore Mico was her choice; and also due to the school’s high level of discipline. She was rewarded a scholarship by Ramond "KC" Graham to be a part of the track team. During her first year at the institution, she experienced a major injury in her back and was forced to sit out the year and focus on the upcoming year.
Presently, Sherica is in her second year and is expected to do well, due to the arrival of the former head coach of Kingston College.
“I am serious this year, training is going good and I’m looking for a great season” she pointed out.
Most memorable moment
She stated that her most memorable moment occurred when her team won the 4x100m at the Penn Relay Championship in 2010. The team consisted of Kedisha Dallas, Yanique Ellington, Diana Johnson and herself.
“That moment will never disappear from my memory, it is a feeling that whenever I think of it, I want to do track and field even more,” she highlighted “I was so happy, so motivated and almost speechless to a point where the feeling is so hard to explain.”