* Jaden Merrick was a state champion in Iowa this year
Photo Credit: Zach Boyden-Holmes/USA Today
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Over the years, Iowa has produced plenty of girls and boys distance stars.
There's Olympian Karissa Schweizer, perhaps Iowa's most famous runner. Or what about Jackson Heidesch? Last year the Dowling Catholic standout broke four minutes in the mile for the first time in state history.
We're barely a year removed from Heidesch's historic season on the grass. But this fall, a new standout was on the rise and climbing the ranks. Could he some day have what it takes to rewrite the record books?
That answer will come later. But right now, Cedar Falls sophomore Jaden Merrick is quickly taking the state by storm.
As a freshman, Merrick flashed plenty of signs that he possessed a lot of talent. He ran under 16:00 for 5,000 meters on six different occasions, with his best effort coming at the Jim Boughton Invitational when he crossed the tape 15:41.0.
However, his sophomore campaign has seen him rapidly transition into one of the state's top dogs.
"I'm definitely ready this year. I've run it when it was dry and I've raced in the mud, so no matter how it goes I think I'm ready for anything and just ready to tackle the course."
Merrick has already captured six victories and has only run slower than 15:50 on one occasion. He also earned his highest-ever finish at the state championships, finishing second in 15:13.4.
What's even more impressive about his runner-up performance, though, is the fact that Merrick had hip flexor tendinitis flare up just a few weeks out.
"The three weeks leading up to the state meet was only easy runs," Merrick said. " ... I didn't do any workouts the three weeks leading up to state, but after that it finally went away. In my head I was still questioning whether it was fully gone, because I could still feel it a little bit, but it ended up staying away."
It pushed him to resort to a less intense training block, which forced him to forego any type of speed workouts that may have fine-tuned his fitness.
But as they say, "the hay was already in the barn" for the young star, and his summer of double-threshold workouts set him up exceptionally well for the postseason.
WATCH LIVE: RUNNINGLANE CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
BEGINS AIRING ON DEC. 2 AT 7:30 A.M. CST
* Jaden Merrick sets the school record again at the Jim Boughton Invitational
Photo Credit: Zach Boyden-Holmes/USA Today
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Earlier this month, on an incredibly uncharacteristic warm and sunny day at Yankton Trails Park, Merrick put himself in a great position to run fast and got out to his "best start of the year," coming through the first mile in a blistering 4:35.
"At that point I knew it was out hot, but I just kinda had to hold on for dear life and see what I could do," he said.
If that wasn't impressive enough, he held on some more to come through two miles in 9:30, which was just as painful as the first.
In one of the most crowded races an athlete can compete in, Merrick maneuvered his way to a time of 15:01.9, which represented the second-fastest time in the state this season.
"Coming down the final stretch, it was going to be really tight getting into the fourteens, but I just barely missed it," he said.
Despite running a time that would have given the win in 2019, Merrick finished 10th, in the fastest ever race in NXR Heartland history.
However, there's still one week left for Merrick to put the pedal to the metal, and what better place to do that than at the RunningLane Cross Country Championships in Huntsville, Alabama.
This Saturday, Merrick will join over 2,400 other athletes at John Hunt Park. Luckily for Merrick, there are already few factors that will play into his favor come Saturday, one of those being his familiarity with a course he's seen in several different conditions.
"I'm definitely ready this year," Merrick said. "I've run it when it was dry and I've raced in the mud, so no matter how it goes I think I'm ready for anything and just ready to tackle the course."
Heading into Saturday's championship race, Merrick is one of the top contenders for the individual title, but he will have plenty of guys around jockeying for a win of their own.
In perfect conditions, Merrick said that he would shoot for anything under 14:40 and even eye the sophomore national record of 14:33.94.
For those curious, anything under 14:39.00 would be a new Iowa state record.
Though the forecast is calling for showers on Friday and Saturday, Merrick is ready to let it rip one last time and take a shot in the final race of his sophomore season.
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