This South Jersey 14-year-old broke a track record that was older than she is

Jasmine Jackson has started eyeing the record books. The rising freshman at Winslow Township High School, who recently turned 14, has been using it as motivation ahead of her races, and it’s paying off.

Two weeks ago, Jackson, who runs for Winslow Elite Track and Field, attended the 58th AAU Junior Olympic Games in Greensboro, N.C. She left as the new national record holder in the 14-year-old girls’ 100-meter hurdles. Her winning time of 13.72 seconds broke the previous mark of 13.82, which was set in 2009 (and tied in the prelims).

“I was really shocked,” said Jackson, who also runs the 200-meter dash and 200 hurdles. “I knew I could do it, but it’s always going to be shocking when you PR by a lot, because my PR going into the race was only 14.06, so when I finally hit 13, and for it to be 13.72, I was really proud in that moment, and I still am.”

Her previous personal best was set at the New Balance Nationals in June at Franklin Field. She made it a goal afterward to run under 14 seconds. With extra practice with her father, Tyree Jackson, who’s a track and field coach at Pennsauken and trains her in the hurdles, Jasmine knew it could happen.

And now, she’s ready to make her name known in the track and field world.

“I feel like that event really does expose you to a lot competition and different colleges because coaches are there,” Jackson said. “That meet is very well-broadcast and posted on a lot of platforms. I feel like that did put myself out there and showed people that there’s more to come.”

It’s only the beginning for her. But Tyree Jackson always knew his daughter would progress quickly on the track, which she was around often, and she became fond of hurdling at a young age.

“Her first interest came from when me, her mother, and brother were at Overbrook High School, and I was working with my stepson, and she wanted to try to go over a hurdle,” said Jackson, who ran at Rowan. “Her first attempt, she was scared to go over, but the second attempt, she went over with a perfect lead leg, perfect trail leg. The arms were wild, but I have high school girls that couldn’t even get over like that.”

Jasmine was 5 years old when she made that first attempt over a hurdle. Her relationship with the sport grew from there, but it mainly was for fun, whether it was practicing with the girls on the Pennsauken team or by herself.

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Tyree Jackson said he wanted his daughter to hold off from focused competition until she was at least 11 years old to avoid burnout. When Jasmine turned 8, however, she told her father that she wanted to run for a team. He knew he couldn’t tell her no. That’s when she joined Winslow Elite Track and Field, which gave her exposure to national competition.

“I really like the technique about [hurdling],” she said. “How it’s more than just running, and how not everybody could do it, and knowing that’s what you’re talented at is a good feeling.”

Her father said he has seen her times progressively drop. When she first started, her times weren’t nationally ranked. Now she holds top-10 times in her age bracket in three events.

However, Tyree Jackson tries to remind his daughter that it’s not always about rankings or records. It’s about Jasmine’s believing in herself because there will be times when the race doesn’t go her way.

That’s exactly what he told her after her race in the 100 hurdles, when she showed that her mental toughness will be her strongest asset as she continues to grow in the sport.

“She didn’t do well in her other events,” Tyree Jackson said. “We walked into North Carolina being ranked No. 1 in the 200 meters, No. 1 in the 200-meter hurdles, and No. 3 in the 100-meter hurdles. Theoretically, she should have walked out with three gold medals. She could have easily packed it in after the first day, but she didn’t.

“Even though she knows she’s good, she really doesn’t realize how good she is yet. I had to reemphasize to her that when she does put together a complete race, that’s the type of results that she will get every time.”

The next year will come with challenges but also plenty of joyous moments, and Jackson has a number of goals.

“I want to have a state record,” she said. “I would love to run at the Division I level and potentially break NCAA records there as well. By 2028, I want to be at the Olympics in Los Angeles and be a gold medalist, and also have the world record.”

Her father added: “She’s strong, she’s dedicated. She loves to achieve all her goals. She doesn’t follow the crowd. I see her being one of the most dominant runners in the state, no matter the event that she runs in. She should do extremely well in New Jersey and nationally as well.”

Wherever her path takes her, though, Jasmine Jackson will always have that record-breaking race.