Chad ZALLOW

TRACK —WARREN JFK

One of the most dominant track athletes in Ohio history found his calling on a baseball field.

“I was running around the bases and everyone was like, ‘Wow, you’re so fast,’” Warren JFK senior Chad Zallow said. “So I went out to the Warren Striders [track club]. I was like 6 or 7 years old and I had that talent for running. Ever since then, I never looked back.”

After winning three state titles over his sophomore and junior seasons, Zallow saved his best for last, winning individual titles in the 110-meter hurdles, the 100-meter dash and the 300-meter hurdles at this year’s Division III state meet to help lead the Eagles to their first track state championship. He also won a national title in the 110 hurdles at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals last weekend.

Along the way, he set Division III records in the 110 hurdles (13.50) and the 100 (10.55), joining JFK’s Darrick Trimble (1994) and Lakeview’s Ben Moody (2009) as the only area athletes in recent memory to win those events back-to-back.

“I surprised myself with that 100-meter record,” he said. “Everyone just thinks of me as a hurdler, and I even do myself, so that 10.55 was just crazy.”

While he would have liked to break the 300 hurdle record — he set that mark in 2013, but Columbus Academy’s John Lint lowered it last year — he’s proud that he was able to gut out a victory in that event after cramping up before the race.

“I know it wasn’t the prettiest race in the world, but I knew if we wanted to win the team title, we needed those 10 points,” he said.

Zallow will join his older brother, Carl, at Youngstown State next season, giving the Penguins the type of sprinting talent you normally find at much bigger schools.

“I feel like I’d be way more appreciated here,” he said. “People are gonna care more about what I do here and I’m going to get a lot more attention here.

“There’s a lot of great things going on in Youngstown. I want to stay here and be a part of it.”