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Very few have questioned Chad Zallow's quickness. For more evidence, the Youngstown State senior sprinter was honored this week by the Horizon League as the 2019 Alfreeda Goff Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Year.
Zallow currently leads the league with be best times in the 60-meter dash, 60-meter hurdles and 200-meter dash as the conference's Indoor Track & Field Championships begin today at the WATTS facility on the YSU campus.
The Penguin men will be going for their fourth straight league title, while the women will be after their fifth title in six years.
Beyond the Horizon League, Zallow, a John F. Kennedy High School graduate, placed third in the 60-meter hurdles at the Millrose Games on Feb. 9, competing against former Olympians.
The start he had in New York put Zallow in the lead halfway through the race.
"I knew if I wanted to be a contender to get first place I needed a good start," Zallow said. "A lot of the guys in the field have a really good finish. The start, being one of my strong suits, I felt I could get a really good start. There's a lot of pressure on the line and a lot of adrenaline going with it being on a national stage.
"I got one of the better starts of my life."
Speed work is one thing Zallow is trying to improve.
"I feel like getting repetition over the last few hurdles, just getting stronger, more in shape," Zallow said. "I think I'll get there. I'm starting to run more 200s. I feel like my speed endurance is getting better.
"The more I work on the speed endurance part of everything, the more my finishes will come along."
The end of Zallow's collegiate career is soon approaching, with the close of indoor season next month and his final outdoor season starting in late March.
Every NCAA athlete has four years of eligibility in their sport and one other season in a different sport. Former YSU basketball player Brian Radakovich, from Steubenville, played for the men's basketball team about a decade ago. After his playing days on the hardwood, he then played for the Penguins football team.
Zallow played a couple of seasons for JFK's football team before hanging up his cleats before his senior season with the Eagles to focus on track.
But the hurdler never gave up his passion for football. Former Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt ran a 40-yard dash during this year's Super Bowl festivities and YSU's football pro day is coming up soon. Zallow is thinking of making an appearance to test himself.
"I was talking to (sprint) coach (David) Townsend about it," Zallow said. "It is my senior year, pro day is around the corner. I might as well hop in the pro day and see what I can throw down in the 40. I definitely feel I can get below 4.4, 4.3, maybe dip into the 4.2s.
"I was a big football guy in high school, got to a lot of combines. I always like to see what people can throw down in the 40. I feel like I can throw down a pretty fast 40. I'm looking forward to see if I can hop in there and see what I can throw down."
Zallow graduates after the fall semester of 2019. Would he join the Penguins football team?
"Football is definitely my first love," Zallow said. "I really miss football a lot. I get asked a lot by football coaches to come out and play football. Track right now is my main focus, but if the opportunity ever came around I'd love to play again. I definitely have the speed.
"That's one thing in football is you can't teach speed. I would like to play in the future, but the main focus is track."
Right now, he's looking to improve his form and work on his speed. Zallow said he's healthy and ready to go.
The focus after the Horizon League meet is the NCAA Championships in early March in Birmingham, Alabama. Going to the professional ranks of hurdling might be an option for Zallow, but so might be football.
"I do have a fifth year of eligibility in a different sport," he said. "We'll see how this track thing works out, what kind of options I have in the summer. It would be an option. Right now, I'm focusing on track."