Iowa City West's Aidan Jacobsen wins state title in 400 hurdles at Iowa state track meet
Iowa City West senior Aidan Jacobsen admitted he didn't feel his best heading into the Class 4A 400-meter hurdles at the Iowa state track and field meet on Friday.
He competed in the long jump a little over an hour earlier, finishing in second place. But the short break didn't hold Jacobsen back on the Blue Oval.
He placed third as a sophomore and then second in 2023 as a junior at the state meet. Friday was the breakthrough moment that the Iowa State commit had been waiting for.
“This was kind of the one thing I was missing," Jacobsen said. "Had the Drake flag, I had relay titles, all that. I just needed the individual so I finally got it. It feels great.”
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Jacobsen finished with a time of 52.85 to win his first individual state title. He became the first Trojan to win a state title in the 400 hurdles since 2018.
Heading into the state meet, he was already a state champion in the 4x200 relay and 4x100 shuttle hurdles. The last time Jacobsen was at the Blue Oval, he earned a Drake Relays title in the 400 hurdles.
Jacobsen admitted he wasn't satisfied with his season-best time. He said he didn't have much time to refocus and refuel, but he was glad to provide Iowa City West with much-needed team points.
"I wasn't happy with the time at all, but 10 points is 10 points," Jacobsen said. "Even though I would've liked to have 400 hurdles be on its own day, we really needed points in the long jump so I'm obviously happy to do that for the team."
Friday's win was the result of the hours invested in hurdling over the last four years at Iowa City West.
“I’m just grateful. Our team, our coaches, it's really like a special program so to be able to put on this jersey for four years, it really means so much," Jacobsen said.
Marc Ray is the high school sports reporter for the Iowa City Press-Citizen. He can be reached at MARay@gannett.com, and on X, formerly Twitter, at @themarcszn.
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Iowa City West's Aidan Jacobsen wins 400-meter hurdles state title
