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Hometown Heroes
City-wide celebration caps off run of success by Warren G. Harding High track team
By SEAN BARRON
WARREN
DeAver Williamson will do plenty of running when he plays football after high school, but he already has championship-style running under his belt.
“If anyone was down, we picked each other up,” Williamson said, referring to having been part of Warren Harding High School’s boys track team, which won the OHSAA’s Division I state track & field championship on June 5 in Columbus.
“We were like a big family.”
The 10 members of the team who qualified for the state-team competition were honored Saturday during a 45-minute rally in Courthouse Square, at which several school and elected officials and others spoke.
The Raiders took the first state track title in the school’s history with a 47-44 win over Trotwood Madison at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
Williamson, a Harding senior, repeated as 100-meter state champion and added a 200-meter title out of Lane 8 to help the team win the crown.
Playing football at Michigan is a priority for Williamson.
“It’s taught me to compete and be the best. You really don’t want to finish second,” Williamson said of his track experience.
Also desiring to continue his running ways on a football field is senior Andrew Zitnik, who placed fourth in the 100 and 200, and joined Williamson for third place in the 4x200 relay.
“The whole year, we’ve talked about winning state. Everyone was focused on the big prize,” said Zitnik, who plans to attend the College of Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass.
Zitnik’s track experience began when he was a seventh-grader at Reed Middle School in Hubbard. Being part of Harding’s first championship was “overwhelming,” he added.
With the possible exception of playing indoor or semiprofessional football, it looks as if Deen Franklin will be finished with sports after high school, and focused on attending Bradford College near Pittsburgh to become a dental assistant.
Franklin, a senior who posted a ninth-place finish in the 4x100 relay, said his last championship was in baseball when he was 10. Being part of the winning track team taught him, among other things, the importance of working together for a common goal and not taking anything for granted, he said.
Numerous accolades also were heaped on head coach Charles Penny, who praised his team and coaches for being undefeated this year, as well as the students’ individual accomplishments.
“This is a great way to end your high-school career,” the seventh-year coach said. “There’s no better way to do it.”
Penny noted that more than 330 teams statewide competed in the Division I event. The entire Harding team had about 50 members, 10 of whom were in the state competition, and five coaches, he added.
Penny said that in addition to being victorious on the field, his team has demonstrated respect, pride and other virtues. The experience will likely prime the students to contribute to their communities, and showcase Warren in positive ways, he continued.
“We won the Triple Crown, and that’s pretty impressive,” Penny said, referring to the team’s having won the district, regional and state championships.
Among those who spoke were members of the 1967 Harding team, which finished as state runner-up.
Other speakers at the rally were Warren Councilwoman Cheryl Saffold, who helped organize the event; Mayor Michael J. O’Brien, who presented each team member with a plaque; Superintendent Dr. Kathryn Hellweg; Principal Ruth Zitnik, the mother of Andrew Zitnik; and Paul Trina, director of athletics. Elected officials who gave remarks were U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th; Trumbull County Commissioner Frank Fuda; and state Rep. Thomas Letson of Warren, D-64th.
Members of the Harding band and cheerleading squad performed.