Cerovac took up athletics for the first time at the age of 15. He subsequently began training with AK Mladost Užice from Užice in Serbia, which is over 1,300 feet above sea level. He ran his first major international race at the 2010 European Cross Country Championships, where he ran in the junior race and placed second overall. In 2011, Cerovac enrolled in the Faculty of Physical Education in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He continued training athletics simultaneously with studying under his coach Miloš Mitrić, a former Villanova distance runner. At the 2013 European Cross Country Championships, which were held in Belgrade, Cerovac ran in the U23 race and placed third, behind Mitko Tsenov. His third-place finish was widely regarded as a surprising result, even by the local media. Prior to the race, he had recovered for almost three years from a tendon rupture suffered after his 2010 cross country race in Portugal.