Gordon in for the long haul
Wheaton North senior once quit track, but has excelled in long jump, sprints since return
Zach Gordon walked away from track and field once, but don’t expect it to happen again.
The Wheaton North senior joined the team after his freshman basketball season and coach Don Helberg liked what he saw.
“He got in his first meet, right there you could see the raw talent,” Helberg said.
But Gordon quit the team soon after, telling Helberg he was just going to focus on basketball.
Gordon had a change of heart the next year and asked Helberg for another chance. The coach’s response: “Only if you don’t quit again.”
He didn’t. And Gordon, who was just a sprinter before that, started long jumping. He proved to be a quick study taking 12th in the Class 3A state meet just a few months after picking up the event.
“I wanted to try it because it looked like fun,” Gordon said. “It’s just running and jumping as far as you can, landing in sand.”
Last spring, Gordon did even better, winning the 3A long jump title with a leap of 24 feet, 0.5 inches.
His best effort this season is 235.75, which ranks him third in 3A and fifth overall in Illinois according to DyestatIl.com. But Gordon’s focus has been less on the long jump than some of his other events so far.
He also runs the 100 and 200 meters and is a key member of the Falcons’ short relays. The 200 has been a particular point of emphasis in 2013.
“I ran a 21.79 last year; at the Best 4 meet, I ran a 21.71,” Gordon said. “I’m really training hard for the 200.”
Actually, he’s not slacking anywhere.
“[Being] a returning state champ, there is always a big target on his back,” Helberg said. “I think he knew he had his work cut out for him. But his work ethic is second to none. At meets, he’s there two hours early warming up. ...
“The hardest thing is to get him to back off a bit; he won’t. He’s fulltilt or nothing.”
Indeed, workouts are no time for coasting, either.
“We push each other very hard in practice,” Gordon said. “After every workout, everybody feels like they’re about to throw up.” The goal of all that work is simple. “Our goal is to get a team trophy,” Gordon said. “It’s all about the team. Whatever I have to do to get a trophy, I’ll do.”
The Falcons have won two trophies in program history, taking third place in 2002 and again the next season.
Their chances of earning more hardware won’t rest solely on Gordon’s shoulders. Fellow senior Alex Ryan ran the state’s fastest 800 — 1:56.00 — last week at Glenbard West’s Jim Arnold Invitational, while the Falcons’ 400 and 800 relays both rank in the top four in the state.
But there’s no doubt whom Wheaton North relies on in big meets.
“You watch him compete and you know he’s an athlete,” Helberg said.
And now he’s a track and field athlete for the long haul.