“Jordan has taken me completely off the board,” said Sutherland, now the boys track coach at Butler.
Gross has broken those records several times. He set the 100 record (10.47 seconds) in April at the Miamisburg Invitational. He set the 200 mark (20.93) at the Miami Valley League championship in May and lowered it again Friday (20.66) at the Division I regional meet at Wayne High School. He set the 400 record (48.08) in April at the Herb Hartman Invitational.
“He’s really hit the weight room hard,” Sutherland said. “He’s just so much stronger this year. He’s really made an emphasis of that. He works extremely hard. I don’t know if people understand how hard he works.”
Gross will seek even lower times as he competes at the state track and field championships Friday and Saturday at Ohio State’s Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. The event returns to Columbus after taking place at Welcome Stadium in Dayton in 2024.
“I’m excited for this year,” Gross said. “I’m ready to be back at Ohio State.”
Gross failed to qualify for state in the 100 after a false start in the finals at the regional meet. He had the best time in the preliminaries (10.6).
Gross did qualify for state in the 200 by winning the regional championship with the best qualifying time in the state. He will compete at state in the 200 and in the 4x100 and 4x200 relays. Kaiden Bates, Allen Mabson and Tayven Crump will join him in the 100 relay, while Levi Campbell, Mabson and Brayden Thaxton will race with him in the 200 relay.
Butler won the regional title with 81 points, beating Wayne by nine points. The team’s other state qualifiers are:
• 4x800 relay: Thaxton; Korey Snyder; Campbell; and Crump.
• 400: Levi Campbell; and Thaxton.
• 800: Luke Campbell; and Crump.
• 4x400 relay: Crump; Levi Campbell; Snyder; and Luke Campbell.
After his high school career concludes, Gross had planned compete at Marshall University. He signed with Marshall in November and earned a full ride earlier this spring after his times put him in a whole new category of recruit.
“It meant a lot,” Gross said, “because I would have had to pay for college on my own. I have six siblings.”
On Wednesday, however, Gross announced a change of plans.
“I would like to thank Marshall for everything,” he wrote on Instagram. “I’ve made the tough decision to open up my recruitment. Excited for the next chapter!”
Gross falls right in the middle of the seven Gross kids. One brother, Tyler, is a sophomore on the Butler track team.
Jordan started running track in the eighth grade. He had always played soccer and wanted to give his speed a test in track. He was a runner-up in the league in his first season but didn’t win a league race until his sophomore year.
This year, Gross is part of a strong group of area sprinters.
• Brookville senior Coy Hyre qualified for state in the 100 and 200 and will race with the 4x200 and 4x400 relay teams in the D-II meet.
• Wayne sophomore Jamier Averette-Brown qualified for the D-I meet in the 100 and 200 and will race with the 4x100 and 4x200 relay teams.
• Wayne sophomore Keng Martin qualified for the 110 and 300 hurdles and will join Averette-Brown on the relay teams.
• Wayne junior Key’Shawn Garrett will compete in the 200, the long jump and on the relay teams.
“They’re all good friends,” Sutherland said. “It’s awesome to watch. They’re competitive, but those guys are always talking. They’re always hugging each other. They’re always supporting each other.”
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