Matt Callanan believes Jarret Eaton was born to hurdle. To Callanan, Eaton has the total package.

‘He has the most natural talent in a hurdler that I’ve ever seen,’ Callanan said.

But if you ask Callanan, Eaton has not relied on that natural ability alone thus far in his career at Syracuse. To his teammates on the SU track and field team, Eaton is far from complacent. He works on every little small detail, with a penchant to perfect them – to a point Callanan says he has never seen from a hurdler before.

And now, all of the work appears to be paying off.

As a junior this season, Eaton ran a Syracuse school record time of 7.68 in the 60-meter hurdles at the New Balance Championships in New York City on Feb. 4. It was good enough for a first-place finish.

That time, which Eaton, Callanan and SU’s coaches attribute to the work ethic Callanan harped on, was good enough to qualify Eaton for the NCAA Championships for the second consecutive year. Eaton will compete in the 60-meter hurdles this weekend in Fayetteville, Ark.

This year, Eaton has the sixth-best hurdle time in the country and is the only Syracuse track and field athlete going to the NCAA Championships. He joins a select few who will be competing in Arkansas this weekend. Only 20 other 60-meter hurdlers will be partaking in this weekend’s meet.

‘It all starts with the little stuff,’ Eaton said. ‘Small stuff can affect big stuff. I try to evaluate and criticize my work in practice so at the meets it’s routine, and I can just execute.’

Eaton will be looking to keep on executing this weekend. But from prior experience, he knows that the national championships are a different animal. The competition can swallow up a young hurdler.

Last season the competition did just that. Eaton finished second-to-last in the 60-meter hurdles at the NCAA Championships. The performance left a bitter taste in Eaton’s mouth. The junior hurdler came to the event as a sophomore looking to make it to the finals in his event.

‘There is no room for mistakes,’ Eaton said. ‘You have to be on your A-game or you will get left behind.’

This year any kind of finish resembling last year’s won’t suffice. He feels he has put in too much work. He has been there before. This year the goal is a clear one – a top 5 finish. Possibly even a win.

And Eaton feels it is attainable.

SU assistant coach Dave Hegland believes it is as well, thanks to that noticeable change in Eaton’s work ethic from last year.

‘The difference between this year and last year is great,’ Hegland said. ‘He is better in every way. If he goes into the meet and does what he’s been doing all year, then he’ll have a lot of success.’

With just three days left before his second trial at the NCAA Championships, the only thing left for Eaton to do is hurdle. Eaton and Hegland are going to keep doing what they’ve been doing the whole season. There is no reason to mess with success. The results prove that.

Now it just remains to be seen if it is all enough for a championship.

‘He knows what he needs to accomplish,’ Callanan said. ‘Last year will motivate him. He’s been thinking for a year about what happened last year, and he wants to prove to everyone that he can be the No. 1 hurdler in the country.’

rnmarcus@syr.edu

Published on March 9, 2010 at 12:00 pm

Contact Rachel: rnmarcus@syr.edu