Melissa Jefferson approached her first season as a professional the way anyone riding her momentum might.
Two years ago, as a junior at Coastal Carolina, she stunned the field and won the 100-meter final at the USATF Outdoor Championships and qualified for the World Athletics Championships.
“If it ain’t broke don’t fix it,” Jefferson said of her transition to pro track at last month’s Los Angeles Grand Prix.
After the 2022 World Championships, Jefferson decided to forego her senior year and turned pro. She, however, didn’t want to change much else. Her environment, her coach, their plan for success. It remained mostly identical.
The only difference: the level of competition.
Jefferson competed against professional athletes while in college, but in August of 2022 they became her constant contemporaries. Many of them train in groups, competing with one another not only at meets, but in practice. Sharing advice and strategy, too.
In trying to keep things the same, Jefferson didn’t have that luxury. She began to feel secluded.
“The outside life of what it means to be a professional, it’s hard to do that when you’re in a collegiate setting,” Jefferson said. “You may have different workouts from the collegiate athletes, but at the same time, the atmosphere and the demeanor of (being a pro) is so different. Because I was training by myself, it was hard to navigate.”
After an underwhelming rookie season in 2023, Jefferson needed a change to her ecosystem.
She joined Star Athletics, a track and field group based in Florida. She turned competitors into teammates. Leaning on them, she’s leveled the playing field and won four 100-meter races during the 2024 outdoor season, including the LA Grand Prix.
To recapture the speed she flashed in college, Jefferson had to separate from that version of herself.
The one that captivated those who paid attention to Coastal Carolina track and field. Diehards, such as Damu Cherry-Mitchell.
Cherry-Mitchell, a former Olympic hurdler, was part of the broadcast team for the Sun Belt Conference championships throughout Jefferson’s college career.
She would go home and rave about each interaction to her husband, Dennis Mitchell.
Jefferson’s work ethic, her ability to shine despite competing for a smaller school, impressed her.
The two reconnected in 2023 after Jefferson’s coach, Karl Goodman, accepted a position at the University of Southern California.
It was a natural breaking point. Jefferson wanted to join a training group.
Cherry-Mitchell introduced her to Dennis, who coaches Star Athletics. Jefferson and her agent interviewed him to see if she would fit.
“We’re the hardest training group in the world,” he said. “When you come to Star Athletics, I’m going to train you mentally, physically and emotionally.”
The amount of challenges he throws at his athletes can make it difficult to grow. Those who do embrace them, though, clearly reap the rewards, as the group is headlined by Sha’Carri Richardson and Kenneth Bednarek.
Before each season, Dennis Mitchell encourages each athlete to find their place at Star Athletics, their purpose within the group.
“Everybody, as the season progresses, shines in one particular area,” he said. “And that particular area that they shine in, all of us gravitate to when we need that particular thing.”
Take Jefferson’s teammate, Twanisha Terry, for example.
She’s a nurturer, Mitchell said. When new athletes join the group, Terry’s instinct is to help them acclimate.
With Jefferson, Terry explained the best methods to communicate with Mitchell. To have patience as the seasoned coach works to develop you.
Terry met Jefferson at the 2022 U.S. Championships, when they faced off in the 100 meters final. Then, they trained together at Team USA’s Relay Camp, where, at first, Terry didn’t recognize Jefferson because “she had a different hair style.”
Soon, she remembered the collegiate star who outpaced her by 0.05 seconds in Oregon, a race in which Terry finished third.
Jefferson approached Terry seeking advice about beginning her professional career. They went shopping and grabbed lunch where Terry, the consummate professional, offered to pay for the meal.
“We just stuck together ever since we went on to win gold in the 4×100,” she said.
In Jefferson’s first year as a pro, she would travel to meets with Terry and other members of Star Athletics. In Terry’s words, she was an honorary member of the group.
Deciding to become an official member, though, required Jefferson and her boyfriend, Rolan Wooden, to move to Claremont, Florida and live there full time. Terry, who was traveling at the time, offered hospitality as they looked for a house in the area.
“I feel like that was a stepping stone that took our relationship to another level,” Terry said. “I didn’t have to go out of my way to let them stay there, but I know how it could be when applying for a house.”
When Jefferson eventually found her own place, Terry frequented it. They binged hours of the television drama Scandal.
Terry also acted as Rolan’s confidant. He planned on proposing to Jefferson, wanting to surprise her at a picnic on the beach. Terry was the only one he told and she helped him plan for the moment. (Melissa and Rolan have been engaged since last October).
“She’s my big sister,” Jefferson said about Terry. “You’d think we’ve been friends for 10 years or so.”
In reality, it’s been just two.
Terry’s guidance and friendship was invaluable to Jefferson when she first joined Star Athletics because she was dealing with a stress fracture in her right shin.
From the sideline, she watched her new group train.
“I saw her come to practice every single day, work hard,” Dennis Mitchell said. “She was doing a lot of mental reps. Even though she couldn’t run with the girls, she was out there looking at practice.”
It’s in these moments — when athletes have the support of teammates to rely on — that being part of a training group pays off.
Terry and Mitchell agree:
“I felt like it was important to train alongside other professional athletes so you can have people experiencing what you’re going through to relate to,” Terry said.
Mitchell added: “Iron sharpens iron: When you get into an environment that is very challenging to you, then, you begin to rise to the occasion.”
Jefferson needed that environment, she admits.
She will continue to lean on Mitchell, for his tests; and on Terry, for her encouragement, as they both seek a spot on Team USA at the Olympic Trials in Eugene.
