Upper Dublin’s Price-Whitehead striving to break his national long jump record before joining Gamecocks
FORT WASHINGTON, Pa. (BVM) — Jaden Price-Whitehead launched the start of an optimistic track and field career after he soared 25 feet into the long jump pit during a 2020 junior season indoor meet. That record stayed at U.S No. 1 and he went on to win the indoor PIAA state championship later that season before becoming the 2020 Gatorade Pennsylvania Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year.
Now a senior at Upper Dublin High School (UDHS), Price-Whitehead is signed on a full track and field scholarship with the South Carolina Gamecocks. His top six schools were South Carolina, Cornell, Baylor, Oklahoma, Arizona State and North Carolina.
“Coach Quarles [the jumps coach for the Gamecocks], is known for improving athletes to jumping another two feet,” Price-Whitehead said. “With where I am currently at, that would put me with the world’s best jumpers.”
But before Price-Whitehead joins the men’s team in Columbia, S.C., he plans on breaking his personal record in the long jump which gained him national attention in the first place last season. His record for this indoor 2021 season so far is 24-10.75, just 1.25 inches off of his PR.
“It has been more difficult this year with everything going on to break that record,” Price-Whitehead said. “But it’s nothing I can’t do. I know I can show my improvement, I just have to fix some issues in my run to get there.”
But even with a ‘difficult’ season, Price-Whitehead is the 2020-21 U.S. indoor-meet national boys record holder in the long jump. He is also currently Pennsylvania’s No. 1 in the 55-meter (6.45), 60-meter (7.02) and triple jump (48-8).
At 18, Price-Whitehead has some other big goals for himself in the sport. Although he will focus on competing in the long jump and triple jump at South Carolina, there is a chance he will run in the short sprinting events since he, “finds [himself] competitive in everything.”
“Expect me to break an NCAA record and win championships with the Gamecocks,” Price-Whitehead said, “After that I’m going to the Olympics — I’m guaranteeing it.”
Although he aspires to go pro one day, the future computer science major made it clear that academics comes first since he is always thinking about his long-term future.
“That major won’t be easy at my school, but without graduating, there is no plan then after track,” Price-Whitehead said. “The plan after track is to fall back with what you did at your university and make a living off that.”
Before starting his future at South Carolina, Price-Whitehead still has both indoor and outdoor state and national championships to compete at. He said he sees himself progressing an extra two feet in the long jump during outdoor because that is how much he has previously improved from one season to the next.
“People see me as the quiet guy but someone who also gets the stuff done and done well,” Price-Whitehead said. “But I don’t just focus on myself. I give back in my sport by teaching local kids at my church on how to become better runners.”
From being a volunteer coach to a student-athlete, Price-Whitehead said the one thing most important to him is seeing improvement in his abilities on the track and on the field.
“I was just looking for a program with tough competition and South Carolina is in one of the best conferences,” Price-Whitehead said. “I know with this program I’m going to have people pushing me to do better than what I think I can do.”
