C-M’s Hill overcomes injuries to net bronze medal

DES MOINES — Colfax-Mingo senior Zarek Hill knew he had his best 400-meter hurdle race still inside him.

And it finally came out on the state’s biggest stage on Friday.

Hill entered the Iowa High School State Track and Field Championships seeded 20th in the Class 2A 400 hurdles. He even had to run in the first heat and the rainy conditions were less than ideal.

None of that mattered as Hill won his heat, stayed in the lead after two sections and finished with a bronze medal after a school-record time of 56.24 seconds.

“I knew I had it in me, but every time I have run this race I have either won by a lot or lost by a lot so I never had a drive to go get it,” Hill said. “I was kind of being lazy to myself and my teammates. This was my last chance so I went and got it.”

Hill is Colfax-Mingo’s highest state finisher since 2013 when Connor Hainer was crowned champion in the long jump. And Hill finished third despite having torn ligaments in his right leg and a possible stress fracture.

“He’s as tough of a kid as any I have coached. He’s battled injuries all year,” Colfax-Mingo coach Matt Barkalow said. “That’s the only way he plays. He goes full out all the time.”

Hill added, “It hurts, but I had so much adrenaline that I wouldn’t let it affect the race. I just pushed through it. That’s what I do.”

The other Tigerhawk who competed on Friday was junior Trinity Schroeder in the 110 high hurdles.

Schroeder spent much of the season on the shelf with an injury but ended his season with a 12th-place finish in the hurdle event. Schroeder completed the race in a season-best time of 15.75 seconds.

The top two finishers in the 400 hurdles race came from the third and final heat. Okoboji’s Ethan Albright, last year’s runner-up, won the state title in 54.52. Dike-New Hartford’s Grant Bixby was second in 55.94.

Hill had the top time after the first two heats. He was .03 seconds ahead of Northeast’s Grant Rickertsen for the bronze.

“I didn’t feel good about the time at first,” Hill said. “I didn’t think it would stand up. After the second heat, it got interesting. I gave it everything I had so whether I medaled or not, I can accept the performance.”

Barkalow knew the more it rained, the better it was for Hill.

“The worst the weather got, it favored him. You can’t be more mentally tough than he is,” Barkalow said. “I am proud of him. He’s been around the top eight or 10 all year long. I thought he could go top five.”

Hill’s time of 56.24 broke a 25-year old school record set by Levi Van Oort.

“I just wanted him to go out on his best race,” Barkalow said. “He has given me everything he has in both sports I have coached him in. I love the kid. This is a nice way to punctuate his career.”

Hill went old school for his final race, breaking out the singlet uniform he wore as a freshman when Jake Lietz placed fifth in the 400 at state. He even wore the same size small he put on three years ago.

“Jake Lietz was the last guy to run an individual event in the singlet so I decided to bring it back today,” said Hill, who plans to attend the Army National Guard after this summer’s baseball season. “I haven’t wrapped my head around it yet. I still can’t believe I got third.”