There’s a new state all-time record holder in the 110m hurdles for boys track in South Dakota, and his name is Aidan Hedderman. The Sturgis Brown senior clocked in with a time of 13.88 seconds in the event to put his mark on history, and claim the state title in the event.
A couple hours after breaking the state record, he then also won a close race in the 300m hurdles for ‘AA’ boys to win that title as well.
“I was hoping for it,” Hedderman said. “I’m not a cocky guy, but I was to myself very confident in winning both races and knowing I could go under fourteen (110m hurdles) if I put together a good race, so it was awesome to just come together and do it.”
Hedderman admitted that the feeling of being an all-time record holder hasn’t quite set in. His 110m hurdles performance also now ranks him 47th in the nation for the event.
“I don’t think I’ve still processed it yet. It was an awesome race. I knew I could do it, but got a good race, had some good competition too, so it was just awesome,” he exclaimed. “It’s hard to think that this guy from Sturgis, South Dakota could even touch that, but it’s been great. I’ve had great competitors and teammates, who have pushed me, and parents and coaches who have believed in me the whole way. It’s just awesome. I’ve been put in a very fortunate situation.”
In the 300m hurdles, Hedderman finished with a time of 39.49 seconds, edging out Tate Larson of Harrisburg, who finished at 39.5 seconds.
“Almost felt bad for my competitor Tate Larson, because he’s actually going to be my roommate and we’re going to be competing together at USD next year,” explained Hedderman. “But, it was just awesome. End of the race was all guts, don’t’ even remember what happened, but it was great and he put together a great race.”
Hedderman also finished third in boys ‘AA’ pole vault on Thursday.
As a kid, he made a commitment to be great. He said it’s something that others, who dream big, should do.
“Put your mind to whatever you want and you can do it,” Hedderman stated. “It’s going to suck sometimes and it’s going to take a lot of work, and you’re going to want to give up, but surround yourself with good people.”
As previously mentioned, Hedderman will attend the University of South Dakota next year where he’ll join their track and field team. He’s ready for the next opportunity.
“I’m just very excited to get to compete at the college level. They have one of the best coaching staffs in the country and it’ll just be awesome,” he said. “Going to have great competition every day at practice and going to go to some big meets. It’s going to be awesome to compete at that college level.”
