PICKERINGTON — Jaden Haldeman, a member of the Miami Trace High School graduating Class of 2021, is going to the Division I State track meet in two events.
On Friday, May 28, Haldeman placed fourth in the finals of the 300-meter hurdles in 38.78. He was just .05 seconds out of third place.
Erich Rhodeback, a graduate of Mount Vernon, won the event with a time of 37.95.
Haldeman will compete Friday in the first of three heats in the 300-meter hurdles at the State meet at Hilliard Darby High School. He brings the fourth-fastest time out of the 18 competitors to the State, with only Rhodeback, Zemen Siyoum of Pickerington North (38.59) and Jayden Douglas of Beechcroft (38.73) having faster Regional times.
Haldeman placed fifth in the finals of the 110-meter hurdles in a time of 14.80. He received an at-large bid to the State meet.
He will compete in the 110-meter hurdle prelims Friday at 2:45 p.m. His time of 14.80 is eighth-fastest out of 18 competitors who will be vying for the State title.
Also at the Regional on Friday, recent graduate Logan Rodgers placed sixth out of 16 competitors in the high jump with a height of 6’ 1”.
Alex Smith of Hilliard Darby won the Regional with a jump of 6’ 3”.
Junior Libby Aleshire placed 11th in the discus throw with a distance of 103’ 5”.
Teammate Lilly Workman (also a junior) placed ninth in the discus throw at 104’ 2”.
Junior Halaya Woodson of Hamilton Township won the event with a throw of 131’ 0”.
“We’re incredibly excited for Jaden,” Miami Trace head coach Brent Noes said. “He was able to come out here today and finish in fourth place and move on to the State track meet (this) week.
“Coming into today’s finals, we thought he had a real good shot in the 300,” Noes said. “Unfortunately, he just missed out in the 110’s. And he ran a (personal best).”
This was said before Noes found out that Haldeman was going to receive an at-large bid to State in the 110’s.
“We can’t be upset about that,” Noes said. “When you run a PR (personal record) up here. He used that as a little bit of motivation for his 300, to help kind of push him on through.
“Jaden was the District champion in the 110’s and the 300 hurdles,” Noes said.
“It’s an amazing feeling just knowing I’m in the Regional finals, running against some of the best people in the state,” Haldeman said. “It was a little rough, it was a little colder. It was terrible (running the backstretch portion of the 300’s), but I still felt good at the same time. It was a good feeling.
“I’ve been working for this (a trip to State) since my freshman year,” Haldeman said.
The weather was anything but springlike at Pickerington, especially on Friday, with clouds, some drizzle, temperatures in the mid-50’s and winds gusting from the north at upwards of 30 miles per hour.
“For all of our kids, we had a fantastic (meet) up here,” Noes said. “We got moved up to Division I this year, so, we’re competing against all the Central District Division I high schools. We’re up here competing at a facility that actually has two outdoor tracks.
“When we started this season, we had three boys and four girls who had earned varsity letters,” Noes said. “We were able to work hard enough that we got 13 athletes out to the Division I Regional meet this year. We couldn’t be happier about that.
“Our 4 x 8 boys relay ran up here Wednesday night,” Noes said. “I was really proud of the senior leadership that Graham Carson and Mcale Callahan and Fletcher Havens showed. We brought a sophomore up here in Max Trimble. They wanted to run and give him the experience so that he knew what it was going to be like so he can make it back up here in the next year or two.
“Our boys 4 x 1 relay came up here,” Noes said. “We had some younger people in that race. We had two freshmen (Taevin Brown and Jake Manbevers), a senior (Treven Shoemaker) and a junior (Jadon Rowe).
“We had Jadon Rowe in the open 100 on Wednesday,” Noes said. “We look to get him to come back up here next year, as well.
“We had Libby Aleshire in the shot put on Wednesday,” Noes said. “She came up here and had a good day. Then, today, Logan Rodgers ended up finishing sixth in the high jump, so, that was a great day for him. He tied his PR at 6’ 1”. We couldn’t be happier for him.
“Libby Aleshire and Lilly Workman both competed up here today in the discus,” Noes said. “Lilly made the finals. Libby was within a few feet of where she’s usually at. She had a good day. Libby was a District champion in the discus.
“Lilly had an exceptional day, hitting a PR,” Noes said. “She made it to the finals in ninth. Unfortunately, she stayed in ninth place, but, it was still a great day for her. It was a great experience for both of them. They are both juniors.
“Jana Griffith ran the 300 hurdles,” Noes said. “She had a great season and she ran a great race in the prelims. This was her first year running hurdles. She was a District champion and was able to come up here and compete well and represent Miami Trace.
“Then, of course, Jaden kind of capped the day off in the 300’s,” Noes said. “Miami Trace had a great day up here at the Division I Regional and, it’s a whole different ballgame, a whole different world up here at this level with what we’ve been used to. The kids came up here, competed hard and fought to the end.”