—Submitted photo Fort Dodge’s Jordan Crosby finished his DODGER track career in 2003 with three state championships. Crosby won the low and high hurdles to go along with the long jump. Crosby won eight Dodger Relay titles in his career.

In his final season as a Dodger in 2003, Jordan Crosby had high hopes of bringing home two state championships, but he had no idea he would go down in the school record books as a three-time state champion.

After a strong junior campaign with silver and bronze medals in his trophy case, Crosby was ready to grab gold in both hurdle events, but with the desire of competing as much as possible he decided to take a leap.

“The long jump was a complete wildcard,” Crosby said. “I hadn’t competed all season and asked Coach (Sam) Moser if we could try it at the conference meet (which was the last opportunity to qualify prior to state). At the conference meet I ended up setting the meet record, so I saw potential to perform well going into state.

“I would have considered gold in a relay event before the long jump purely because I wasn’t familiar enough with the competition and hadn’t been practicing. However, I think going into that event without the pressure to perform allowed me to find the extra gear.”

After finishing second and third as a junior, he was ready for more. Crosby had been the fastest in the state in the 110 high hurdles and the 400 low hurdles all season long (in 2003).

I had strong expectations to stand atop the podium for the high and low hurdles,” Crosby said. “My qualifying times for both of the events placed me as the favorite to title, and I was returning from the 2002 state meet where I placed second and third respectively.”

On the track Crosby set numerous records in the hurdle events and had high hopes at every meet he competed in.

“In Iowa, track season has the gift and curse of offering multiple high energy stages, found in the Drake Relays and the state meet. In a great year, you fix all of your focus on those big two, yet you have to find ways to make the local meets just as compelling,” Crosby said. “My intent at every meet was to break a record and I believe that provoked me to levels of success.

“I hope that everyone has a time in life that blesses them with the emotions and fullness that I experienced that spring. Reflecting on this, I have to share my gratitude to the teammates and coaches who always provided an environment throughout the season that reminded me to enjoy what was taking place.”

After a successful season, where he ended his career with eight Dodger Relay titles, Crosby was ready to fulfill his destiny inside Drake Stadium.

“Hurdles are events that you have to find high levels of comfort and confidence in,” Crosby said. “It is the combination of technical form and the mental strength to fight through mishaps, because you’ll rarely be flawless jumping over barriers while sprinting. The high hurdles are dependent upon having a great start and finding your rhythm as quickly as possible. My wife might say I don’t have much rhythm but for 110 meter, I can put it together.

“The 400 low hurdles on the other hand is an event that is incredibly demanding, known in track circles to be the toughest physical race. Most states don’t compete at the 400 meter length, opting instead for a 300 meter distance (another reason Iowa is tougher than other states). In the long jump, it was a completely different story. I was purely running at a white board and jumping as far as I could, nothing graceful about it. I ate so much sand that day because I wasn’t disciplined enough to keep my mouth closed.”

Bringing home three states titles from the state meet is a feat that has never been duplicated at Fort Dodge Senior High. Crosby is the only Dodger to win three titles in one season and is still the 400 low hurdle record holder.

“I’m always surprised to hear that fact because of all the pure talent that has come through the Dodger program,” Crosby said. “I think the moment the significance was lost because we had a DQ in the prelims of our 4×400 relay and we weren’t in the finals. We had beaten all of the qualified teams that made the finals at some point throughout the season, and I had confidence we could have made it interesting.

“Taking a step back and knowing that I personally left it all on the track that day was the ultimate way to cap my time as a Dodger, and hopefully leave some inspiration for the next wave of runners.”

After his stellar performance on the track Crosby was named the Gatorade Athlete of the Year for Iowa. He continued his track career at Georgia Tech and also ran at the University of Iowa, before making the decision to place his focus outside of athletics after his sophomore season.

Crosby now works for Nike in Beaverton, Oregon. Crosby is on a team whose objective is to inform Nike’s running apparel teams with the latest insights gathered from around the globe.

“We spend a considerable amount of time in key cities including Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, Los Angeles, New York, and London,” Crosby said. “We observe and question the running communities to compile emerging trends, ascertain what the modern runner needs and wants are, and deliver an apparel collection that speaks to these findings.

“Our team is also entrusted to design and develop all of the Olympic Track & Field kits for the Nike sponsored federations. All of the Tokyo 2020 (now 2021) kits were a direct product from the team’s work, and we have already started work on Paris 2024. It was a disappointment to see the Tokyo Olympics be pushed back due to the current Global crisis. The silver lining is that at a time when runnings largest stage has been suspended, we are also seeing the largest exponential growth in running participation to memory. Running is having a major movement right now and I can’t wait to see where it goes from here.”

Crosby and his wife Teila have two kids, daughter Chloe (four years old) and son Luca (one).