When Jarret Eaton edged Devon Hill of Miami (Fla.) and Barrett Nugent of Louisiana State by one hundredth of a second in the NCAA 60-meter hurdles championship March 10, he became the first individual national champion in Syracuse history.

Three days later, Eaton still couldn’t describe how much his achievement meant.

‘It feels great,’ Eaton said March 13. ‘I can’t really put it into words how I’m really feeling, but I’m really happy and excited, and it’s been a blessing. It’s been a long season, so I’m just really excited.’

All year long, Eaton’s been putting up impressive numbers that have pushed him onto the national scene, capped off by his performance March 10. With Eaton’s finish of 7.54 at Jacksons Indoor Track in Nampa, Idaho, the graduate student finished off an undefeated season in the biggest way possible: becoming the program’s first national champion. The hurdler entered the meet as a favorite after enjoying a breakout season highlighted by his time of 7.49 at the Penn State National Invitational on Jan. 28 in State College, Pa. It was the fastest time in 15 years and the second-fastest in NCAA history.

On the heels of his championship day, the national honors continued rolling in.

Eaton was named a United States Track & Field and Coaches Association First Team All-American on March 12 and is also a finalist for the Bowerman Award, given to the nation’s top track and field athlete.

On top of the individual success, though, Eaton helped to vault the SU track and field program into the national spotlight. That was head coach Chris Fox’s goal when he arrived at Syracuse in 2005.

‘It shows that we can compete at the highest level,’ SU assistant coach Dave Hegland said. ‘I think we’ve had guys kind of helping the program move towards this program over the years. I’m really happy for them as well.’

Hegland said past All-Americans Michael LeBlanc and Kyle Heath are among those who set the foundation for the Syracuse track program.

Those former athletes got the program moving in the right direction, Hegland said. And this season, Eaton continued to advance the program.

Fox said the next step for Syracuse is to continue to recruit at a high level. Though Eaton practically fell into SU’s lap when he transferred from Division-II West Chester (Pa.) University, Syracuse won’t get so lucky in the future.

‘We need to recruit the best kids in the country,’ Fox said. ‘… Hegland and all of us are always on the lookout for the next Jarret. They’re just quality kids.’

Eaton broke the Syracuse record and qualified for the NCAA Championship Jan. 21 at the Cornell Upstate Challenge in Ithaca with a time of 7.61. From there, Eaton made headlines with standout performances throughout the season, winning each of the events in which he competed.

On March 9, he won his heat in the preliminary heats of the NCAA Championship to qualify for the championship heats Saturday.

And his final competition ended up being one of his tightest races this season.

Coming off the final hurdle, Eaton was neck and neck with Hill and Nugent, and he needed a lunge in the final meters that sent him tumbling across the finish line to come away with the victory.

‘I saw people to my left kind of creeping up, so I didn’t actually think I won,’ Eaton said. ‘… I had a million thoughts process through my brain.’

Eaton admitted to some rare nerves before the final run of the indoor season, but he found solace from an unlikely source: the music of Michael Jackson.

As the hurdler stood at the starting line for the race, ‘Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin” played over the PA system at Jacksons Indoor Track. The single is one of Eaton’s favorite songs by one of his favorite artists.

‘Now that I think back on it, maybe (it was a sign),’ Eaton said, ‘but it was helpful to make me relax and stay focused and kind of get my mind on the right track.’

The national championship doesn’t mark the end of Eaton’s journey at SU. Hegland still plans on Eaton running once every two or three weeks so he’s ready to compete in the outdoor NCAA Championships in June.

After that, Eaton hopes to qualify for the Olympics. Eaton wanted to peak during an Olympic year, and he appears to be doing just that. U.S. Olympic Trials begin June 22 in Eugene, Ore., but Eaton still isn’t looking too far ahead.

He still has goals to accomplish before he can turn his attention to that dream.

‘I’m back to running races and just thinking one week at a time for when outdoor nationals and outdoor USA championships come,’ Eaton said. ‘I’m just taking baby steps now.’

dbwilson@syr.edu