Making a Long Jump Back to Excellence : Track: Mission Viejo’s Heather Sterlin recovers from cracked vertebrae to qualify for second consecutive State meet.

Almost lost among the vast collection of snapshots covering a wall in Fred Almond’s classroom at Mission Viejo High is a photo of a decidedly out-of-shape Heather Sterlin.

Sterlin, a senior long jumper, hates it so much she once tried to cover it with a piece of paper so nobody would see her in that sad state.

Almond, Mission Viejo track and field coach, loves it because it shows Sterlin receiving a near-flawless baton pass on the Diablos’ 400-meter relay team.

“Oh no, not that picture,” Sterlin shrieked in mock horror when Almond showed the picture to a visitor.

For her, it’s a grim reminder of where she has been and how far she has had to travel to recover from a back injury that nearly ended her track career.

Almond is sympathetic, but, hey, a good-looking baton pass is a good-looking baton pass and this one is as smooth as any track coach could hope for. So the picture stays put. Besides, they can laugh about it now.

Sterlin, Mission Viejo’s unsinkable Molly Brown, has rebounded to qualify for tonight’s State meet for the second consecutive season.

Last year’s ninth-place finish seems like ancient history for Sterlin, though. Since then, she has improved her personal best by almost a foot, been the only Orange County long jumper to better 17 feet 6 inches and won the Southern Section 4-A title for the second consecutive year.

Better still, there have been no signs of trouble with the two cracked vertebrae that rendered her inactive for seven months in 1990. Indeed, she has regained the lean look of a track athlete in peak condition.

Although she could have done without the experience of spending her sophomore season in a bulky back brace, Sterlin doesn’t appear worse for wear.

“She has a wonderful temperament, which helps her deal with adversity,” Almond said.

Sterlin is smiling and upbeat, even when things don’t go exactly as planned. After four unpredictable years at Mission Viejo, she is prepared for whatever comes her way this weekend.

After all, all she really wants is one very good jump.

“I want a PR (personal record) and I want to win,” she said. “If I PR and I don’t win, I’m still going to be happy. If I jump 18-5 and win, I’m not going to be very happy.”

Sterlin, who has a best of 19-6, Kam Warner of Bakersfield West (19-6 1/2) and Sheena Ferguson of San Francisco Washington (19-5) have the top three jumps in the state and are considered the favorites.

The last time the three met, Warner jumped 19-6 1/4 to win the Arcadia Invitational April 11. Sterlin was second at 19-0 1/2 and Ferguson third at 18-9 3/4.

“It would be great to come in the top three (Saturday),” Sterlin said.

In March of 1990, simply hopping out of the bed in the morning was out of the question for Sterlin.

After jumping 18-2 as a freshman, Sterlin entered her sophomore season with high expectations. The first stop on a tour that Sterlin hoped would end at the State meet in June was an indoor hurdles event at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, N.Y.

Sterlin stumbled over a hurdle midway through her race and suddenly found she couldn’t get up. Doctors later diagnosed two fractured vertebrae, put her in a wire brace she would wear for the next six months and told her, “No running, jumping or throwing for at least that long.”

It was the first time she had ever been inactive, and she hated it.

“That was the worst,” she said.

After several months of slow rehabilitation, with much of her muscle tone gone and her confidence at a low ebb, Sterlin returned to the Mission Viejo track unsure of what to expect.

Less than three weeks into the season, she had her answer--a sprained ankle, suffered in one of the year’s first meets.

“I felt cursed,” she said.

But things got better and Sterlin kept advancing in the postseason meets, eventually landing a spot in the State meet long jump. In the prelims, she popped off a personal-best 18-6 1/4 and the next night followed that with a 17-5 1/4 jump to place ninth in the finals.

Her senior season has come together in a nice, neat package. No injuries. No major setbacks--only a string of steady performances heading into the State meet.

Sterlin has broken the 18-foot barrier nine times, including three jumps of better than 19 feet.

She also has cleared 5-2 in the high jump, recorded a personal best of 14.69 seconds in the 100-meter low hurdles and run legs on the Diablos’ 400- and 1,600-meter relay teams that have county-leading times of 42.82 and 3:59.92.

“I’m always trying to improve,” said Sterlin, who recently accepted a track scholarship to UC Santa Barbara.

“That’s why I like the long jump so much. I’m always trying to improve my last mark. It was hard when I was hurt because I didn’t think I’d ever have the chance to improve again.”

Healthy and happy, Sterlin has another chance to improve tonight. And for that she’s grateful.