Iowa Falls-Alden’s state champion 4x110m shuttle hurdle relay team including 2024 graduates Andon Barrick, Jaden Damiano, Ray Morgan Jr. and junior Carter Weaver, and Damiano individually will get to showcase their talents on an elite stage at New Balance Nationals Outdoor in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania this weekend.
Jaden Damiano says getting to make history running this relay with his friends will be awesome.
“Our shuttle team, this is the first time that we’ve had a state champion shuttle team ever,” says Damiano. “Being able to run as a team and just go with my buddies is awesome. We’re going to have a good time. So I’m pretty excited.”
This will be the first time the 4×110 shuttle hurdle relay team has competed since sprinting to a new state record time of 58.70 and a state championship on May 18th. The team is in section 11 of 11 and scheduled to run at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday.
Damiano, individually placed fourth in 110m hurdles at Brooks PR Invite in Seattle on Wednesday. At the New Balance event he is scheduled to compete in 400m hurdles in section 9 of 9 on Friday at 3:25 p.m. and 110m hurdles prelims in heat 3 of 9 on Saturday at 11:04 a.m. Damiano’s last race in the 400m hurdles was a state title run in 52.03 on May 17th.
Damiano says staying confident in the midst of a challenging field of competitors is key.
“I think just running as a team and being confident because there’s going to be a lot of fast people there. It’s going to be tough, especially to win, but I think we have got a good shot. We got a good time going in. So I think just staying confident throughout the whole race is going to be key.”
The meet runs through Sunday at Franklin Field in Philadelphia.
