In His Own Words: Zack Smith

Hey everyone, I’m Zack Smith from Downers Grove North High School, and I’m here to update you on all things track and field from Downers Grove this season. We’ve already kicked off the season very well these first few weeks with lots of great performances. It had been a long time coming, after training hard since early December, when the Hinsdale Little Four Invite rolled around in early February.  Although it was small, it was still a competitive meet and a great tune up for the season. 

I was able to get my season kicked off in the 4x800 by splitting a 2:02, which was a 4 second personal best for me from last season. The rest of my teammates ran great in that relay, and we were able to bring home the win. Later that night, I got to race my buddy Tony Zea in my first 600. I knew I would have to watch out for him on the kick, but that didn’t stop the speedster from hunting me down and beating me. He’s one guy who’s really been having a great season already, running 2:01 in the 800 as a junior and constantly improving everyday in practice.  Tony isn’t the only guy I see get better everyday, and I’ve become accustomed to watching my teammates make huge strides throughout the course of the season. It really is a privilege for me to be able to run and suffer with these guys everyday. 

Getting back on track, after another great week at practice with a few tough workouts, we headed to Proviso West for a six team meet. I was only running the mile that night, so I watched my teammates throw down some great performances before eventually racing. The 1600 was loaded with competition, and I knew that it would be a good race. I came in wanting to run fast, but also wanting to run free, so I didn’t really have a specific time in mind. Fortunately, I was able to get out fast and run my race from there. I ended up running a 4:22.3, which I was extremely happy with since it was an eighy second personal best for me from last season. My teammate Ben Eaton also ran great in that race, running a 4:30 and a very smart race. The next week, the big one rolled around: the Proviso West Invite. The week leading up to that was a little rough for me because I had to battle some tendonitis in my cchilles and wasn’t able to run as much as I would’ve liked to. Staying healthy is a huge key to having a successful season, so I was careful with this injury because it was so early in the season and I knew there was no reason to push it.  Even so, after a few days of cross training, I was still planning on running the 3200 at Proviso West. I didn’t really know what to expect from myself going into that race, but I knew there would be plenty of good competition.  The results from that race confirmed that, because a lot of guys ran very fast, including my teammate Ben. He ran 9:23, has been running so consistent all year, and has a very exciting senior season ahead of him.  I was able to run a 9:19.66, which I was very happy with. The last few weeks, we’ve really picked up the hard workouts as a team as we get ready for conference in a few weeks.  That’s all I’ve got for now, I’ll keep everyone updated soon!  

More Coverage