Once a pinch-runner, Mifflin’s Zack Zerbe has become a home run hitter on the track

By Julie Pelchar Cohen — MikeDragoSports.com senior correspondent

Zack Zerbe was happy to spare his teammates a trip around the diamond while blazing across the bases as a grade school ballplayer.

“I’ve always had speed,” Zerbe said. “The coaches used to make me run for the catchers. That’s all I could really do.”

Zerbe put his fast-twitching hamstrings to further good use when he started high school and joined Gov. Mifflin’s track and field team.

“I was running track on a baseball field,” he said, “so I figured I might as well run it on a real track.”

Zerbe has continued to evolve since his freshman season three years ago. Squat by squat, lunge by lunge and lap by lap, he has built himself into Berks County’s best distance runner, a boy who believes he’ll be beaming from a high position on the state championship medal stand come Memorial Day weekend.

“I still have my own personal goals,” Zerbe said of this upcoming senior season. “I still want to win a district title. I want to see if I can win the triple crown at counties. I want to see if I can go after a state title.

“I’ve thought about this since middle school. I’ve worked so hard the past three years. That doesn’t mean I’m going to give up now. I’m right there. I might as well finish it off.”

Zerbe has left no doubt that senioritis isn’t in his vocabulary or that committing to run at American University has left Mifflin in his rearview mirror.

He’s fully focused on what’s left to accomplish the next two months when he’ll chase his final high school track and field dreams.

Zerbe is looking to further build on a breakthrough junior year, when he won the county title in the 1600 and 3200 and finished fourth in the longer race at the District 3 meet to qualify for the PIAA Championships.

Fueled by a new dedication to the weight room, the stronger Zerbe crushed personal records by six seconds in the 800 and 1600 and by a whopping 38 ticks in the 3200.

Zerbe showcased this burgeoning speed in daredevil fashion, sitting back for three laps in a 1600 race before shifting into a gear that left local admirers chattering about his lightning limbs and spirited strategy.

“My speed is definitely something I get excited about,” Zerbe said. “When I have one lap to go and I know I’ve got it.”

But Zerbe’s late dashes concerned longtime Mifflin distance coach Jack Heim, a guru in the Berks County distance world.

While Heim has coached the Mustang distance girls since 1977, he didn’t take on the boys until last year and is just getting to know Zerbe.

Heim was certain the Zerbe Zoom wasn’t sustainable.  

“Last year he would sit and sit and sit and then he would take off on everybody,” Heim said. “But the big guys sooner or later are going to figure it out and take his legs out.”

Look for Zerbe to run more consistent splits this spring. He started implementing the new approach this winter.

“It’s even pace as much as he will allow,” Heim said. “I keep preaching it.”

Safe to say it’s been successful.

While Zerbe trained like a cross country runner this winter – Heim’s squad focused solely on distance training, pounding Shillington’s pavements and traversing Nolde Forest’s trails rather than hitting the track – a funny thing happened along the way.

Zerbe earned a spot at indoor state championships in the 800, his shortest event. He had initially eyed qualifying in the 3000.

However, Zerbe’s seed wasn’t ideal. He missed qualifying for the fastest heat by one spot, meaning he wouldn’t have the top dogs to chase.
But it was on the starting line at Penn State’s indoor track that Zerbe added another weapon to his growing arsenal – confidence on the big stage, which he has admittedly lacked.

“In past state meets, I felt like I wasn’t ready,” Zerbe said. “I felt like I was racing guys above my league. But when I stepped to the line at states I was the best guy on the track. I knew that. I was like, ‘Let’s just do this.’ ”

Zerbe zipped to the lead, held it for four laps and shattered a PR with a 1:53.64. Only one boy was faster in the final heat, and Zerbe left State College wearing a silver medal.

Performances by high school senior track athletes can be unpredictable, especially during the final outdoor season. Final exams, prom, graduation and the upcoming transition to college can weigh heavy on the heart. 

But Zerbe insists he’s primed to finish with a flourish. 

He holds school records in the outdoor 800 (1:55.39) and 3200 (9:18.98). The 400 mark is well within reach. While the 1600 is more of a stretch, it’s not untouchable.

And that boy, who once ran track on the baseball diamond, will be chasing gold medals as he looks to carry his new tactics, confidence, and of course his storied speed, into his field of dreams.