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JFK’s Zallow picks YSU over Big Ten schools
Zallow picks YSU over Big Ten schools
By Ed Puskas
Warren JFK hurdler Chad Zallow sat down at a table with four baseball caps in front of him.
From left to right, track and field programs from Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan and Youngstown State were represented.
Remember the old “Sesame Street” song that went, “One of these things is not like the other?”
Well, one of those schools made a significant addition to its men’s track program on Wednesday — early signing day — and it wasn’t a member of the Big Ten Conference that pulled it off.
Zallow didn’t hesitate when it was time to make his choice public. Shortly after his introduction by Warren JFK track coach Jack Thornton — who coached Chad and his older brother Carl with the Warren Striders Track Club as youngsters — Chad was ready.
“The school I’m choosing is the best fit for me academically and athletically and I can’t wait to see what the future holds,” he said. “With that being said, I’m going to continue my education at ... Youngstown State.”
With that, Zallow — a four-time state hurdles champion — reached for the YSU cap, slipped it on and smiled.
He was one of several Mahoning Valley athletes who signed national letters of intent on Wednesday. Others included Canfield’s Jessica Jones (Penn State, gymnastics); Champion’s Alexandra Stein (Tennessee-Martin, equestian); Howland’s Hannah Burke (West Virginia Tech, softball), Aimee Gysegem (Nova Southeastern, swimming), David-Brian Whisler (Maryland, wrestling); LaBrae’s Haylee Harford (Furman, golf) and Mathews’ Cheyenne Egggens (South Florida, softball).
“I went to Youngstown State on an unofficial visit and I sat down with the coaches and we just connected,” Zallow said. “We had a great bond. Both the coaches — [assistant] coach [David] Townsend and [head] coach [Brian] Gorby — they just laid out the future for me and they believed in me.”
Zallow is a two-time state champion (2013, ’14) in the 110-meter hurdles for JFK. He also won the 300-meter hurdles and the 60-meter indoor hurdles in 2013.
Zallow will join his brother, Carl, at YSU. Carl was a 2014 JFK graduate. The chance to attend college with his brother and to do so close to home factored into Chad’s decision. So did YSU’s multi-million dollar Watson and Tressel Training Site.
“They have one of the best training facilities in the country,” said Zallow, who plans to study business. “I feel like Youngstown State’s track program is on the rise.”
It didn’t hurt that YSU President Jim Tressel, who addressed some 400 visitors that day, hasn’t lost much off his recruiting fastball.
“I wasn’t sure where I was going to go until just recently,” Zallow said. “I actually talked to Jim Tressel when I was on campus and it just clicked that this was the place I wanted to be. They showed me how much they cared [at YSU].”
Chuck Zallow, Chad and Carl’s father, was convinced his younger son was headed somewhere else.
“Jim Tressel must be a heck of a salesman, because I can tell you Chad was going to one of those other three places,” Chuck said, gesturing toward the other caps.
Some highlights from Wednesday’s signing events:
CANFIELD
Jones is a nationally ranked, level-10 gymnast who competes for the Youngstown Gymnastics Center and has been coached by YGC’s Sandy Sabo since she was 7.
“The biggest thing [about Penn State] for me is I felt more comfortable there,” Jones said. “After visiting all the other campuses and everything, I just clicked with the coaches and the girls. They made me feel like I was part of their family.”
Jones plans to study kniesiology.
HOWLAND
Burke, Gysegem and Whisler all hold school records for the Tigers.
“I’ve always wanted to wrestle in the Big Ten,” Whisler, who has placed fourth and seventh in the state wrestling tournament. “When I went [to Maryland] for my visit, there was just something about it. ... I worked hard for a Division I scholarship and I liked the big, Division I feel.”
Burke visited West Virginia Tech — located in Montgomery, W.Va. — over the summer and liked what she saw and experienced.
“They had the field I chose, which was criminal justice, and the coach and I really hit it off,” Burke said. “It’s a small school, but I like it. It’s where I want to go.”
Nova Southeastern is in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Gysegem said she’s always been drawn to Florida because of the weather. Then her sister Emilee, a swimmer at Clarion, told her about some Division II schools she competed against during NCAA nationals.
“So my sophomore year, I started looking into schools there,” Aimee said. “Then I narrowed it to a couple of schools and went on some visits. When I got to Nova Southeastern, it just felt right. The team was great and the coach was perfect.”
MATHEWS
Like Gysegem, Eggens is headed to South Florida, literally and figuratively. She made up her mind about attending USF and playing for the Bulls 18 months ago during a visit as a high school sophomore. But that was after she initially fell in love with Northwestern.
“I really loved the campus and I liked the coaches, and that was definitely a possibility,” Eggens said.
Then she visited USF.
“The weather was beautiful and the campus was beautiful and my college coach let me go out to the field and I got to stand on the pitcher’s mound,” Eggens said. “He was like, ‘Here is where you’ll be if you want to play here.’”
Eggens was hooked.
“It sounds cheesy — and I tell everyone that — but it just felt right,” she said. “After that, I didn’t want to look at any more colleges. I knew I wanted to go there.”