Ashland's Jayden Goings, Braydon Martin stand side-by-side, clearing one hurdle at a time

It's not often one encounters another individual that shares the same like-minded ambitions and possesses a similar mentality as them in their particular craft. Some will find themselves searching all over to connect with that one person that sees their line of work like they do.

For Ashland senior Braydon Martin and junior Jayden Goings, they don't have to look too far when they're both competing in the 110 and 300 hurdles. In some cases (mostly the 110 hurdles), they are usually right next to one another, lane-by-lane. If it's the 300 hurdles, then all one of them has to do is look ahead toward their right, and the other is typically there.

More: Bolin, Kuhn, Martin, Goings, Holbrook chief headliners at 91st Mehock Relays

In approach, mindset and preparation, they're akin to one another. And that's helped both rise up together as two of the top hurdlers in north central Ohio.

"We both have the same mentality," said Goings. "Me and Braydon probably push each other more than anybody on the team just because we're hungry and want to see each other do better."

Full participation

Goings started running hurdles in eighth grade, while Martin jumped into it in his sophomore year. Ask both what attracted them to doing an onerous event that requires an athlete to use a combination of flexibility, speed, timing and rhythm, and it's basically the mere fact to see if they could.

"I'm always looking for new challenges," said Martin, who says staying low and maintaining speed is the most difficult aspect of hurdling. "It struck me as interesting. I feel like it's one of the hardest events to run in track, and I like that."

"Me personally, just the consistency and focus you need for every little detail," Goings added. "Whether it's your form, running speed between the hurdles, foot pattern, or foot rhythm. Also my dad, Jason Goings, (Ashland's Athletic Director) ran the 110- and 400-meter hurdles at Ashland University. I kind of expected to follow under the same lines."

During last season, in Martin's junior year and in Goings' sophomore year, they found themselves regularly placing in the top 10 in their fair share of invitationals/track meets, including Martin winning the 110 hurdles at the Madison and Crestview Pruner Invitational, and Goings winning the 300 hurdles at Pruner. When it came to placing, they were usually right next to each other.

Take the Marion Night Invitational. In the 110 hurdles, Martin went sixth; Goings seventh. Take the Galion Invitational as another example. In the 110, Martin finished fifth; Goings sixth, and in the 300, Goings placed third ahead of Martin who was fourth.

They weren't that far apart at the Ohio Cardinal Conference meet either, with Martin going runner-up (15.59) and Goings getting fourth (15.88) in the 110, but it was the 300 hurdles that was like a breakout performance for Goings. In a gripping 300 hurdles final that came down to the last hurdle, Goings finished second (40.21) just behind Mansfield Senior's Aaron Thornton (39.91), a Division I state qualifier in the 300 hurdles last year, that served as a reminder of the sophomore's capability.

From there, Goings went on to be a regional qualifier in the 300 hurdles, while Martin wasn't able to make it out of the district meet in both hurdle events.

"I noticed how fast Aaron was and I was winning throughout the race until that last hurdle and he caught me," Goings said thinking back. "Ever since that moment, I realized my potential. I was hitting 41s around that time and then I finally broke 40. That was a huge goal my dad set for me. Then when I made it to regionals in the 300, I had one of the slowest times there. It really set my mind up for this year because I wanna be one of those top guys."

"My season last year wasn't too bad," Martin said. "I progressed a lot from my sophomore year because it was my first full year doing hurdles. I hit the marks, but I didn't win nearly as much as I wanted to."

Closely linked

Leading into outdoor track season, the offseason could be looked upon as a stepping stone for the two, as they put in valuable work together.

"In the summer, we tried to hurdle one time per week," Goings said, who prioritized lifting, conditioning and adding more bulk to his leaner frame after his sophomore year. "We went over to the Niss indoor facility [Athletic Center at Ashland University] and we practiced there all winter."

"We had a number of indoor hurdle practices," Martin said. "They made you hone in with the indoor season right around the corner."

Indoor season arrived and while Martin had to cut his season short due to a left hip injury, Goings capitalized on his first time running indoors. Running in the 60-meter hurdles, Goings participated in five competitions, won the 60m hurdles title at the Tiffin Series No. 3 (ran a personal record 8.54) and was a Division I indoor state qualifier in the event.

"My head coach Ryan Stackhouse talked and we felt my biggest flaw in my 110 race was my start, so the 60-meters was perfect," Goings said. "We trained 3-4 days a week and started contacting other schools to find places we could have those indoor meets. I wanted to use that speed and explosiveness I learned coming out the blocks for the 60 and keep that throughout the race."

Look at Martin and Goings now, and those top 10 finishes in 2023 have shifted into constant top five placings in 2024. At invitationals/meets (non-dual meets) this season, in both the 110 and 300 hurdles, neither has placed outside the top five.

• Lexington Invitational: 110 hurdles, Martin 2nd (15.33), Goings 4th (15.74); 300 hurdles, Martin 1st (39.89), Goings 3rd (41.03)

• Crestview Pruner Invitational (Martin didn't run): 110 hurdles, Goings 1st (15.20); 300 hurdles, Goings 2nd (39.20)

"If one of us wins, we know the other one is on our tail everytime and vice versa," Martin said. "You're always racing and competing against the other. We're so close to each other that you really have no room to have a bad race. I feel like that's a big part of the consistency."

"It's kind of rare for two hurdlers to be so close in time but also so close in achievements," Goings said.

If that wasn't enough, then their showings at the prestigious and always super-competitive Mehock Relays in Mansfield on April 13 confirmed that even more. Martin finished fourth in the 110 (14.99) and second in the 300 (39.60), while PR'ing in both. Goings went on to finish fifth in the 110 with a PR of 15.17, then third (41.07) in the 300. It was a definite improvement from last year at Mehock, where both didn't make it out of the 110 prelims, and placed ninth (Martin) and 10th (Goings) in the 300.

"It was super important," Martin said, who describes track for him as more fun than serious. "I love going to bigger meets and facing better competition. I PR'd in both events that day, which is real nice. It was awesome to see both of us finish a lot higher than last year."

In it together

Given how lockstep Martin and Goings are at track meets, it's even more sweeter when they both finish 1-2.

They've done it three times in their career.

Once last year at the Crestview Pruner Invitational, where they went 1-2 in the 110 (Martin 1st, Goings 2nd) and 300 (Goings 1st, Martin 2nd), then twice this year. At the Madison Invitational in late-March, Martin placed first in both hurdles, as Goings was right behind him in second, then at last week's Marion Night Invitational, they were both in better form than ever. Goings won the 110 with a PR of 15.01 (Martin second with 15.12), and in the 300 they each PR'd, as Martin claimed the 300 (39.33) and Goings placed second (40.27).

"It's awesome," Martin said, who views the 300 as the harder of the two hurdles. "I wouldn't want it any other way. To me at those big invites, it's not so much a matter of getting first as it is for both of us to place one and two."

"We always strategize and look at the rosters a couple of days ahead of a meet," Goings said, who calls the 110 the harder of the two hurdles and the 300 his favorite. "Just scoping out the competition and talking about placement. We always want to go 1-2 no matter what track meet. We actually keep a record of how many times I've beaten him in the 110 and 300, and how many times he's beaten me. Right now, we're sitting pretty close."

How does that sound for the upcoming OCC meet?

"The goal is to go 1-2 at OCC," answered Goings.

"Mainly for OCC. More than any other invite, which should be attainable," said Martin.

Look further, and the possibility of making the Division I state meet in Dayton has dawned on both. Same school. Same events. Two athletes.

"My dad said it's been probably 20 years since he's seen two athletes like me and Braydon, in the same event, same school, be able to run the times we run," Goings said. "With other schools, they only have one guy for both hurdles or just one."

"I would love nothing more than my last track meet to be with my hurdle partner that's been there throughout all of it," Martin said.

Yet as running partners, friends and opponents, it's not so much of a competition between the two as it is as uplifting the other, no matter the result.

"Some people might want to bring the other down because they want the upper hand," Goings said. "With us, it's always 100 percent positivity."

"I would not be here right now if it wasn't for him and he'll probably say the same," Martin said. "I definitely wouldn't be running the times I am without him."

That bond is never more evident when they're in their respective lanes, side-by-side, before they run the 110 hurdles. Watch closely and the two will give each other a double fist bump before they enter their starting blocks. A clear sign of two guys that are united in this track expedition.

"That's just a reminder that we're still best friends and we're going 1-2," said Martin. "That fist bump before and even at Crestview last year when we hugged after going 1-2 in the 110 hurdles, just symbolizes that even pass hurdles and who wins, we're still here to have fun."

"We actually started doing it this year," said Goings. "This is Braydon's last year, so we want to make it as memorable as possible because after this year, it's gonna be hard for me to be at such a high level as I am right now. I wouldn't be running the same times if it wasn't for Braydon. It's a sign of brotherhood and friendship. We're both so tight, connected and locked in with each other in the sport of track but also in life."

Side-by-side. They wouldn't have it any other way.

jsimpson@gannett.com

Twitter/X:@JamesSimpsonII

This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Ashland's Goings, Martin form strong one-two punch in the hurdles