43
COLLEGE TRACK & FIELD Zallow, fellow Penguins set for regional
Eight Penguins will
compete in Kentucky
YOUNGSTOWN
Eight Youngstown State track and field athletes are in Lexington, Ky., today through Saturday at the NCAA East Region Preliminary Round.
Those who perform well enough will earn a spot a the national outdoor championships in Eugene, Ore.
Chad Zallow is the nation’s best in the 110 hurdles. Other track athletes include Jaliyah Elliott (200), Collin Harden (400 hurdles), Taylor McDonald (400 hurdles) and Ryan Roush (10,000 meters).
Field athletes competing are Ryan Booth (shot put) Jaynee Corbett (shot put) and Tyler Donati (javelin).
With being the top seed, Zallow expects to make it to nationals, but knows work needs to be done here at the regional level to qualify.
“I just want to take it race by race,” Zallow said. “I’ll have the prelim first, finish in the top half there and then make it to the finals. From there my big goal is to make it to nationals, which I missed last year with a hamstring pull. Now I just want to make it to nationals.”
Zallow finished third in the nation during the indoor track and field season in the 60 hurdles. And he said the confidence and experience from that will only help him in the outdoor postseason.
“That definitely helps,” Zallow said. “It’s good to have that big-meet experience going in. It’s also a confidence boost knowing I finished third in nationals.”
When it comes to big meets in the postseason, Zallow tries to prepare himself the same way each time — with as little deviation from normal as possible.
“I just try to keep things consistent,” Zallow said. “I try to eat healthy, have a good night’s rest and just go in there and take it like any other race.”
Things are a little different for Booth. The junior is ranked 68th nationally in the shot put. There are 48 competitors in the East Region and Booth must crack the top 12 to qualify for nationals.
“I need a three or three-and-a-half foot [personal record], which I’m more than capable of I just haven’t shown it in the meets,” Booth said. “I can make a jump — it’s just a matter of peaking at the right time and I think I’m ready.”
Despite this weekend’s result, it’s still farther than many likely projected Booth to go as someone who didn’t even make a state meet in high school.
“Never count yourself out,” Booth said. “There’s times when you think this isn’t the sport for me and you have to work through those times and see what you’re capable of and I think I’m capable of so much more.”
This regional meet will be a lot different than postseason meets a year ago in high school for Harden. The Girard alumnus blew everyone away en route to a state title last year. This year, the freshman is ranked 73rd nationally in the 400 hurdles and is seeded 2.79 seconds behind Florida’s T.J. Holmes in his heat.
Harden said this isn’t a spot he expected to be in so soon.
“I didn’t think that far,” Harden said. “But as long as I put in the work and I listen to my coaches I know I have a chance to do anything that I could.”
Harden credits a lot of his success to training with fellow hurdler Zallow.
“He puts you to work,” Harden said. “We learn off each other and we give each other our bests.”