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Coates follows (quickly) in dad’s steps

Tribune Chronicle / John Vargo Jacob Coates, left, and Jim Coates pose in front of the Jesse Owens Statue at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in Columbus.

COLUMBUS — Jim Coates remembers that feeling in 1984. The sounds and echoes reverberating through Ohio Stadium, trickling down to the Jesse Owens Track.

He and his John F. Kennedy High School teammates in the 4×100-meter relay — Scott Rindfuss, Joe Frandanisa and Tim Mrofchak — held off Dayton Jefferson for a Class AA first-place finish.

“One thing I did learn, when you get to the state meet, everybody obviously down there is good,” Coates said. “Especially in the relay, you have to hit every hand-off just right. Looking at our times versus who we were running against, we knew we had a shot if everything went just right. It did.”

Coates saw Mrofchak win the 110 hurdles earlier that day and the Eagles tied LaBrae for the Class AA runner-up position.

He also saw his son, Jacob, help to win JFK’s first-ever state track and field title, the 2015 Division III crown, along with Youngstown State sophomore hurdler Chad Zallow. Jacob won the 200-meter dash, and finished second in the 100 behind Zallow who also won both hurdle events.

It seemed Jacob was destined to be the area’s best sprinter his final two years at JFK. Then, a hamstring injury at the New Balance Indoor Nationals in 2016 ended his regular season. He tried a comeback in the district meet at Springfield High School.

Jim Coates said it didn’t seem like his son was running in the district semifinals. In the final of the 100, Coates qualified for the regional, but snapped his hamstring before the finish line.

“When I watched him run the semis, the prelims, it just wasn’t Jake,” the elder Coates said. “I talked to him. He said it doesn’t feel right. We made the decision to shut it down. The time he ran, he wasn’t going too far with that. I just knew it wasn’t right.

“It was a long haul. Going into this year, he had to deal with more mentally than physically.”

It was something Jacob had to put past him heading into his senior year.

“It was pretty emotional to me, knowing I came off a state championship with Chad the year before,” Jacob said. “I’ve got to look past those things. I’ve been trying to put it in the back of my mind since that day.

“I’m looking to finish my senior year off with a good mark.”

Early in the season he wasn’t reaching those times which made him one of the best Division III sprinters. That was until this year’s Trumbull County Meet. He finished fourth, but knew progress was being made.

Brookfield’s Xavier Bailey is one of the best Division III sprinters in the state, winning county, district, regional along the way.

“I felt comfortable running against Xavier,” Jacob said. “I was like, ‘I can definitely do this. It’s definitely in my vision.’ I want to make sure it happens.”

Coates, who is committed to play football at YSU, broke his collarbone against LaBrae in Week 2, had surgery and returned in Week 10 in time for JFK’s run to the Division VII state title.

As for track, it came back to the hamstring injury his junior year.

“Getting over the mental aspect of that hamstring injury, along with physically getting back in shape was a long journey,” Jim Coates said.

That’s where former JFK runner Anthony Rossi stepped in. Rossi is good friends with Jim Coates and is the cousin of Mathews distance runner Kenny Wallace, helping the Mustangs runner as well.

Rossi, who initially worked with Jacob in junior high, helped him get over the mental aspect of the hamstring pull.

“He’s always texting me every night, giving me motivational quotes and stuff,” Jacob said. “He’s been a real good help for me the past couple of weeks and months.”

This morning, Jacob runs in the Division III 100 and 200 state semifinals, trying to qualify for Saturday morning’s finals. All he’s known is running at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, not the vast expanse of Ohio Stadium.

Jim Coates played on Penn State’s 1986 national championship football team after his career at JFK. He knows what it means to be under the pressure Jacob faces this weekend. It’s the same feeling Jim had when JFK won the 4×100 relay state title.

“He’s talked to me about being at all the big stages,” Jacob said. “He’s been to the national championship in college. He really knows what it’s like to live in the moment, just to soak it all in. Come out here and do your best. That’s all you can really do.”

For Jim, it’s about watching his son compete on the high school track one last time.

“I told him no matter what happens down here, what he’s preserved through, fought through to get here, that’s my proudest moment,” Jim said.

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