Desire to be one of the best keeps Carolina Forest’s Pieterse striving for more

Regardless of what some may claim, the notion that every race held the same importance never truly held weight with Michael Pieterse.

While certainly wanting to earn top honors every time the gun sounds, the Carolina Forest cross country runner knew he’d inevitably be measured by the caliber of competition faced.

“You know, in lower level races, you’re not going to focus all that hard,” Pieterse said. “But when the competition is better, you tend to be more focused and hopefully are at your best.”

More often than not, he was able to accomplish those goals.

This past season, Pieterse claimed a Region VI-5A title and finished sixth among runners in Lower State 5A. Crossing the line at 16:35 at the state meet in Columbia, the Panther cross country standout claimed 19th among all runners in the state’s largest classification — and best among all local participants in the race.

By virtue of such a solid season, there is another title Pieterse can add to his résumé — The Sun News’ Toast of the Coast Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year.

“It truly is an honor,” he said. “I’ve accomplished a lot during my time at Carolina Forest, and did several things people said I couldn’t do or had not been done.”

During his time at the school, the junior set school records in the 5K and mile runs. Such has earned him attention by colleges such as Coastal Carolina, Charleston Southern, High Point and Newberry.

Not bad for someone whose primary goal upon starting competitive running was to get fit … for tennis.

“In seventh grade, I was actually a tennis player,” Pieterse said. “My parents kept telling me I needed to get fit. So I began running cross country before tennis started, and eventually fell in love with it.

“It wasn’t an immediate love, though. What I most fell in love with was the sense of unity, and being on a team. Then I saw the beauty of running, the freedom of it all.”

Following several solid seasons, things truly came to a head during Pieterse’s sophomore year, when he claimed first at the Pee Dee Classic in Florence and earned a region title. He would place fifth at Lower State and qualify for the state meet.

But with that success came a new challenge — sustaining it. The constant drive to be the best at his craft made that an easy task, constantly comparing himself with the best from other areas, and not simply settling for being among the top runners on the Grand Strand.

“We have some good runners in this area, but when you look at being in the state’s top classification and get to compete against those from Charleston and Columbia, you tend to work harder,” Pieterse said. “You want to be among the top 10 in the group.”

Though graduating early, the Panthers’ cross country standout still has one more cross country season left. In addition to his goal of leading Carolina Forest to region and state titles, the allure of college competition continues to draw him.

“It’s the main goal, I really want to run in college,” he said. “The top runners I face in high school, there will be more in college. My goal is to earn my spot as one of them.

This story was originally published January 28, 2017 at 6:28 PM with the headline "Desire to be one of the best keeps Carolina Forest’s Pieterse striving for more."