CATCH ZACH MELLON IF YOU CAN

By John Millea Minneapolis Star Tribune

For Zach Mellon, finishing is easy. The senior track star from Buffalo High School runs fast, turns left and almost always wins.

He holds the Minnesota prep record in the 800 meters and is expected to capture his third state championship at that distance. Last year, he placed second in the 800 at the USA Track and Field junior outdoor championships in Columbus, Ohio. He also anchors Buffalo's stellar 4x400 and 4x800 relay teams.

So yes, finishing is the easy part. How he got started is a little tougher to explain.

Mellon has no family athletic background. As a kid, he tried and gave up on football, baseball and tennis. He went out for track in eighth grade and still can't figure out why.

"I went out for track just to do it," he said. "I wasn't really into sports. I just have to say it was just a God-directed thing and he had a plan for it. I don't know. I don't know why I went out, I really don't."

Mellon, who has signed with Wisconsin, doesn't follow sports, can't name all the schools in the Big Ten and says, "I don't even know a lot about runners, to be honest. I'm kind of removed from the running world."

This much we do know: In the past four years, only two high school 800 runners in the nation have topped Mellon's second-place time of 1 minute, 48.64 seconds at the 2008 junior national championships. The U.S. prep record is 1:46.45.

But let's go back to the early days. When Mellon was a ninth-grader, he and three classmates ran a sprint medley relay race in a meet at St. Michael- Albertville. Mellon was the anchor, but trouble began long before the baton reached him. The leadoff man, who was quite nervous, heard the gun and took off without the baton. He had to come back, pick up the stick and begin again.

The Bison were in a big hole by the time Mellon took the handoff for his 800-meter leg. And they won. That's been a continuing theme throughout his career: He almost always hits the finish line first.

"Obviously when we get the stick to him with the lead, we're pretty comfortable," Buffalo coach Scott Palmer said. "And if [the leaders] are somewhere in the same zip code, we're still good."

A little help from his relay friends.

Oddly, two of Mellon's most memorable performances came in runner-up finishes. In the Class 2A 4x400 at last year's state meet, Buffalo was a distant fifth when Mellon got the baton from teammate Tayler Vick, but he blew past runners and came within a half-second of winning.

"It surprised me," Mellon said. "I got done and I was like, 'Dang!'"

Two weeks later, running the 800 at the USATF junior outdoor championships, Mellon was in sixth place with 100 meters left but surged into second, setting the state record.

Mellon's motivation, however, doesn't come from national competition or records. In fact, when asked about his goals, winning as a solo act is not at the top of the list. It's all about we, not me.

His No. 1 goal is winning a state championship in the 4x800. The Bison have gone to state in that event for the past five years, placing second, third, fourth, fifth and eighth.

"I'd love to give my coaches a win, I'd love to give my teammates a win," Mellon said. "I've got three other guys racing there and I'd like to do my part in giving them that, too."

Classmate Kevin Hayes, Buffalo's No. 2 800 runner, calls Mellon a freak of nature, but with a caveat.

"He's a freak of nature, but he definitely works hard," Hayes said. "He puts in the hours, he puts in the time, he does what he has to do and he gets it done every time.

"For me and most of the other kids on the team, having Zach there obviously pushes us. When you're running against someone that good every day, it's going to make you better. Every day we're training with the best runner in the state, so that has to have some advantages."

Profound influences.

For Mellon, being known as the best runner in Minnesota and one of the best in the nation feels strange. He says the attention seems a little foreign.

"It still doesn't feel real, to be honest," he said. "It feels awkward to see my name up there as the best ever.

"Track has been a gift, it's opened up so many doors for me. And it's not even really track, it's the people that have been brought into my life. My coaches, my friends, all those people have helped me figure out some things and stand firm on who I want to be as a person, where I put my heart and where I put my focus. It's been incredible."