Zallow, Coates team up for Warren JFK’s Division III championship

June 7, 2015 at 12:10a.m.

COLUMBUS

He had crossed every hurdle in his high school career — literally and figuratively — but as Warren JFK senior Chad Zallow stepped in his blocks before Saturday’s 300-meter hurdles, he felt his body start to fail him.

Less than an hour earlier, Zallow had won the 110 hurdles and the 100 dash in a 10-minute span — setting the Division III state record in the latter — but the demanding double left him battling cramps.

So he turned to the strongest muscle left in his body — his heart — and gutted out an ugly-but-effective victory in the 300 hurdles to cap one of the most fantastic track careers in Ohio history and put the Eagles in prime position for their first state title.

“That race was all heart for me,” he said. “It wasn’t the prettiest race in the world, but I knew I couldn’t stop.

“I dug down deep. It hurt a lot, but I came away with the win.”

Thirty minutes later, sophomore teammate Jacob Coates won the 200 to erase any lingering doubt, giving JFK 48 points in the Division III competition. Maplewood, which had rallied to beat JFK in last week’s regional, placed second with 37 points.

“Just before the start of this thing [the 200], I was saying, ‘This is for me and Chad. This is for the state title. This is for my school and my family,’” said Coates, who also placed second in the 100. “It’s awesome. Who would have thought me and Chad could do what we’ve done this year?”

Zallow and Coates combined to score all 48 points, giving Trumbull County its fourth state track title in the last four years. Warren Harding won the 2010 boys title, while McDonald won the 2011 boys title and last year’s girls championship.

“They’re outstanding young men, they’re hard workers, they’re dedicated and they stayed focused to our training plan from the beginning of the year in indoor track,” JFK coach Jack Thornton said. “I’m so proud to be their coach.”

Zallow won his third straight title in the 110 hurdles and finished his career with the overall Division III record (13.50, which he set in California earlier this season) and the state meet record (13.62, which he set during Friday’s preliminaries). He also broke the state meet record and tied the overall Division III record in the 100 (10.55). Zallow joins JFK’s Darrick Trimble (1994) and Lakeview’s Ben Moody (2009) as the only area athletes in recent memory to win state titles in the 100 and the 110 hurdles in the same year.

“It really wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be,” said Zallow, a Youngstown State recruit who also won the 60 hurdles and 60 dash at this year’s state indoor meet. “This atmosphere is awesome, so I just ran that 100 on adrenaline.”

Zallow set the state 300 hurdles record as a sophomore, a mark that was broken last year when he finished second in the event. It was his only loss in an individual state race over the last three seasons and it gave his family six career state titles. His older brother, Carl, won the 100 two years ago and now runs at YSU.

As he stood atop the podium after the 300 hurdles, Zallow kept one eye on Maplewood’s two 800-meter runners circling the track. The Eagles might have been 175 miles from home, but they knew their best competition was coming from 15 miles away.

“They have a great distance program and I wish them the best, but at the end of the day we’re facing each other,” he said. “So I like to see other teams passing them, too.”