During his four seasons as the head coach of the Ankeny boys’ track team, Jordan Mullen tried his hardest to make his athletes as fast as possible.
Now, the energetic Mullen has decided that it’s time for him to slow down.
Mullen announced his resignation on Sunday to spend more time with his family.
“My son goes into seventh grade this coming season, and over here at DCG they start middle school sports and he wants me to be around more,” Mullen said. “I just need to slow down and be a dad, and my son wants me to coach him so I’m looking into being a volunteer coach for some of his sports in the next chapter of his life.”
Mullen was a standout hurdler at Iowa who won two Big Ten titles and was a two-time all-American. He came to Ankeny in 2023 after a successful run at his alma mater Atlantic, where he guided the Trojans to three consecutive Hawkeye Ten crowns and led the team to a pair of top-three finishes in the Class 3A state meet.
Mullen took over what had been a competitive Ankeny program and lifted it to unprecedented heights. The Hawks placed second at the state meet in his first season, and Mullen was named the At-Large Coach of the Year in Class 4A.
Ankeny won the Class 4A championship in 2024 in spectacular fashion, racking up a record 112 points. It was the Hawks’ first title since 1972.
Ankeny then defended its crown the following season before placing ninth at this year’s meet, where senior Hayden Carlson raced to an all-time Iowa best of 13.52 seconds while winning the state title in the 110 hurdles.
“It’s bittersweet,” Mullen said. “You wonder when is the right time (to give it up). As much as I care about the sport, there was never a right time. I know I wanted to see my senior hurdlers through. It was just a heck of a season and a heck of a run. I can’t thank Ankeny enough for giving me a shot to lead this program for four years. The community, the school district and the kids in this town are amazing. I will miss it big-time; I can’t say that I won’t.
“But I hope they can carry on the tradition of the program, and I’ll be cheering for them,” he added.
Last December, Mullen was inducted into the Iowa Association of Track Coaches Hall of Fame. He said he won’t close the door on potentially coaching again.
“I never want to say never,” he said. “It wouldn’t be very hard to get me back into it.”