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Richardson’s resiliency rewarded at state meet
Justice Richardson overcame broken foot
By JONAH ROSENBLUM
WARREN
Justice Richardson has long borne high expectations.
After a broken foot foiled her state championship dreams in 2014, the Warren Harding junior won last week’s Division I title in the 100-meter dash — and the Paul Gore Award from the Mahoning Valley Track Officials Association Thursday night.
The award recognized Richardson for accruing the most points at the state meet of any female runner from Ashtabula and Trumbull counties.
“If you believe in yourself and you just keep on doing what you know you’re capable of, amazing things can happen,” Richardson said.
As was often the case at Thursday’s dinner honoring eight runners from Ashtabula and Trumbull counties, Richardson’s story was about more than athletics.
When Richardson entered Warren Harding, her father approached coach Charles Penny, and according to Penny, said, “she won state as a middle-schooler so you’d better get your job done and win her state as a high-schooler.”
Her broken foot deferred that dream.
“It was just the scariest thing I’ve ever had to deal with, not being able to run, because that’s what I really love to do,” Richardson said.
Rather than undergo surgery, her foot was placed in a boot, where it was supposed to heal on its own. Months later, it hadn’t healed. She still felt discomfort and had to go back into the boot. While her competitors trained, Richardson couldn’t run, so she stayed true to her diet, did whatever exercises she could and waited.
Finally in December, she was able to jog and do light track work.
Unlike her recovery from injury, Richardson’s road to victory in the 100-meter dash was relatively easy. Penny said he knew from the moment she jumped off the block.
“The whole day, I had this weird energy, but when I got in the blocks, I knew it was over,” Richardson said. “All of the nerves and energy were gone. It was replaced with just excitement.”
Mineral Ridge’s Logan Smith was named the male cross country senior of the year for Trumbull County. While his second-place finish in the Division III 3,200-meter run was impressive, coach Ron Toth stressed that Smith was a warrior, citing the brutal blisters he endured and the countless number of times he could barely walk off the track. Smith now seeks to become a warrior — literally — as he is off to the United States Naval Academy.
Howland coach Danny Libert said that Taylor Craigo, the female cross country athlete of the year for Trumbull County, ranked first in her class with a 4.0 GPA.
Chad Zallow, who accounted for 30 of Warren JFK’s 48 points in securing its Division III state title, was awarded the Bogan Reed Award as the Mahoning Valley top male scorer at the state meet.
“Getting this award is a huge honor for me,” Zallow said.
Zallow has little time to rest with the New Balance Nationals coming up in a week. Then, it’s off to Eugene, Ore., for the Junior Outdoor Championships, and eventually Youngstown State.
Zallow also won the male track and field senior of the year for Trumbull County, while Caitlyn Trebella, who finished ninth in the pole vault at the Division II state meet, won female track and field senior of the year for Trumbull County.