A remarkable high school track & field career has come to a close for Iowa Falls-Alden’s Jaden Damiano. The senior earned three championships at last weekend’s state track & field meet, running his career total to six gold medals.
In the final race of his high school career on Saturday, Damiano won the 100-meter dash in 11.06, his first career championship in that race.
“This is definitely my biggest accomplishment,” Damiano says. “A lot of people said I couldn’t do it, I wasn’t fast enough, I’m just a hurdle guy. So being able to come in and win this as a state title is just awesome.”
The 100-meter dash title came a day after he experienced a mishap in the 110-meter hurdles prelim, where he knocked a hurdle into an adjacent lane, resulting in being disqualified. Less than two hours later, he responded to the disappointment by running a PR of 52.03 to win his second straight 400-meter hurdles title. Damiano felt he had the right mindset to bounce back.
“I just thought of it like everybody stumbles and falls every once in a while. That’s the first time I’ve ever done anything like that at a meet, other than jumping the gun. But I just forgot about it, I know that I got four more years and hopefully more. So being able to just forget about it was pretty easy for me. I just had to go do my thing in the next races.”
On Saturday afternoon, Damiano was part of the shuttle hurdle relay team that set a 2A meet record by winning the race in 58.70.
When asked how he would describe his legacy as a six-time state champion, Damiano was quick to credit those who have supported him throughout his career.
“I think all my success and everything I’ve earned is can go to my parents, my coaches, my teammates, and God. They’ve all been pushing me to the brim for my whole career, so being able to finish my year out strong is just awesome.”
Damiano will continue his track & field career next school year at the University of South Dakota.
