ANGOLA, Ind. - Prior to graduation, senior Jake Gladieux of the Trine University men's track & field team was honored as the 2024 Robert L. Greim Award recipient. The award recipient is selected by the coaching staff of Trine University to recognize the outstanding male senior athlete each year. The nominations were based on athletic accomplishment, leadership, character, citizenship, and scholarship.
In his five years as a sprinter and hurdler on the Trine University men's and women's track and field team, Gladieux has led the team to nine consecutive Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association championships in both indoor and outdoor. On top of unpresented program success, the Oregon, Ohio native also has a long list of individual achievements on the track, highlighted by a pair of national championships.
Gladieux secured his first career national championship during the 2021 outdoor season when he battled the competition and a rain-soaked surface at Irwin Belk Stadium in Greensboro, North Carolina. He won the 400-meter hurdle event with a time of 52.57 seconds to become just the second men's track and field student-athlete to claim an individual title at the NCAA Division III National Championships.
He would repeat as a National Champion during the 2024 indoor season. Gladieux qualified for the event finals in the 60-meter hurdles and a photo finish featured the top four student-athletes all within one-tenth of a second. Gladieux came out on top at 7.96 seconds to become the only two-time national champion in program history. The senior was undefeated in 60-meter hurdle races in the 2023-24 indoor season and scored 13 points in total at the 2024 NCAA Division III National Championships.
During the upcoming 2024 outdoor season, Gladieux will look to become the most decorated track and field athlete in Trine history looking for his record ninth All-American award. He has been named an All-American four times in the indoor season and four more times in the outdoor season, with three awards coming in the 60-meter hurdles.
The United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) has also given Gladieux 12 All-Region awards in total in five different events and has qualified for the NCAA Division III National Championships 12 times. His versatility has been key to the amount of success he has had in his career thus far, competing in the 60- 110- and 400-meter hurdles, 200-meter dash and the distance medley relay team. His accolades in the MIAA include a 14-time event champion and MIAA Track MVP during the 2022 indoor campaign and 2024 outdoor season. He holds three school records and was a First Team All-MIAA Special Teams honoree on the Trine University football team.
Along with his athletic success, Gladieux excelled in the classroom and was named to the Dean's List and President's List. He acts in a manner worthy of a team captain both verbally and leading by example. He has volunteered at numerous sites across Steuben County including Cherry Street Mission, Fairview Missionary Church, and cleaning Pokagon State Park. After graduation, he plans to start a job with Shambaugh and Sons.
Head Coach Josh Fletcher had this to say of the senior, "Gladieux has been our most consistent and successful male track and field athlete since he arrived on campus. His legacy will last for decades, and his success will be what athletes strive to accomplish! Coach Ware and Jake's coach-to-athlete relationship is a special bond that will last long past graduation. I'm very proud to have been Jake's head coach and truly believe he's just begun to scratch the surface for what God has planned for him."
Gladieux is not done yet, however, as he looks to qualify for the 2024 NCAA DIII Outdoor National Championships on May 23-25.