His two feet planted on the rough track, the legs above them warm but not fully regenerated after a grueling long jump competition, the last two years culminated in this moment. 

A series of hurdles before him, the only obstacle in his way from an Iowa state title, Aidan Jacobsen wanted to beat Austin West’s 400-meter hurdles school record. And West did too.

Two years prior, West — a multi-event track and field athlete at the University of Iowa — partook in leading a free speed clinic on Sundays, which welcomed kids of all ages from beginners to returning state champions to learn from track and field experts such as himself.

That’s where he first met Jacobsen, then a shy sophomore at Iowa City West High School.

“The first thing I said to him was ‘You’re going to be a 23-foot long jumper one day,’” West recalled. “I don’t really know why I said that.”

That’s because, despite Jacobsen’s clear athletic potential, his curiosity quickly turned toward the 400-meter hurdles event — West’s own event at West High years before him.

From there, West’s established coaching philosophy took over, especially as he transitioned from coaching the clinics into a role helping out with the track and field team at West High. 

That philosophy is to build relationships first, to let his athletes know he’s invested in them, before executing the necessary “pillars” that are basic but essential, especially for each event in the heptathlon and decathlon.

“I think we had a really tight-knit group in the West High hurdle crew,” West said. “We have eight or 10 kids … so it’s a small enough group where you can build good relationships, really.”

West’s relationship with Jacobsen came easily, the two bonding over competing in the same event in high school, staying in contact as West moved from Jacobsen’s mentor to his true hurdles coach over the last two years. 

“He was a kid that was really eager to be coached and learn,” West said. “So that made my job really easy, working with him.”

Seeing Jacobsen’s Division I potential, West geared his training regimen toward realizing that end. That meant not giving him the most grueling, college-level workouts but instead training him like a 200-meter dash runner, maximizing his speed and letting the college coach take over from there.

“I wanted to keep him as under-trained as possible,” West said. “So I want him to have a lot of potential going into college.”

In turn, Jacobsen saw West’s simultaneous accomplishments for the Hawkeyes, including being a six-time All-American, decathlon school record holder, and Big Ten 400-meter hurdles champion — Jacobsen’s own event.

“That’s definitely something to look up to, and he’s just a guy that puts track and his training first and foremost in everything he does,” Jacobsen said. “Whether that be how seriously he takes sleep and recovery and all that stuff, it obviously shows with his outstanding results. So that’s something that I think any young athlete can definitely strive toward.”

In the end, Jacobsen emulated that success of his coach, highlighted by a handful of state titles and even a Drake Relays Boys’ Athlete of the Week nod. His high school career then reached its finale in May, Jacobsen set to compete for a 400-meter hurdles state title.

“Really, it was something that I’ve been thinking about for a couple of years,” he said. “So [it was] just a lot of training and preseason work starting in the fall and then working pretty much five days a week from then until May to get it done.”

Which he did. 

Crossing the finish line in 52.85, wowing the field away and putting a cap on a storied high school career, Jacobsen saw “two, three years of really hard work finally paying off.”

And West was in attendance, confident his mentee had a good chance after his performance in the Drake Relays, thus allowing him to simply go out and execute.

“And he did that really well,” West said, despite Jacobsen falling short of West’s school record. “I get really nervous coaching more so than competing myself, so I was just really glad when he won.”

And with Jacobsen now committed to join the Iowa State Cyclones track and field team in the fall, West — his Hawkeye career complete — does not hold any bad blood despite the in-state rivalry.

“I always told him I just want him to go somewhere that made him happy and somewhere where he felt like he’d fit in and have success,” West said. “I’ll be cheering him on, for sure.”

But as West continues to coach as he trains to qualify for the 2028 Summer Olympics, he feels his own track and field career is far from complete, in one way or another.

“He just comes across as a guy that really cares about track and especially really cares about helping other people get better,” Jacobsen said. “He was there on a Sunday afternoon when nobody was making him be there — just because he really is passionate about coaching, and he cares about it.”