Fairmont Senior's Zuchelli breaks familiar record: his coach's (copy)

Jun. 19—FAIRMONT — After coming so far in his high school career, it was the rain that almost stopped Logan Zuchelli.

The Fairmont Senior Polar Bear was ready to go for the 3200 meter run at the West Virginia state meet on June 10, but bad weather forced the event to be canceled, and had delayed the 3200m.

"Lane one was completely underwater, it was so flooded," Fairmont Senior boys track coach Dayton McVicker said.

Thankfully though, Zuchelli would get to take to the track that day, and smash the previous Fairmont Senior 3200 meter school record of 9:14, coming in at 9:03. The record also went beyond just Fairmont Senior — 9:03 was a new best for all of class AA.

It was an outcome that player and coach had their sights set on coming into the meet.

"I was going into it knowing that I was ranked first in all these events," Zuchelli said. "And knowing that state meet records were within reason from how I'd been competing all season."

"He had run [the 3200 meter] two times before in the regular season," McVicker said. "Early season he'd ran 9:23, and then he ran 9:18 in the Big 10 Championship, set the conference record. Once he ran that 9:18 we were like 'Man, this is five seconds, less than a second per lap, I really think you could get it."

McVicker's confidence was not misplaced, and Zuchelli broke a record that had stood since 2010.

The previous record holder?

Dayton McVicker.

Far from there being any bitterness about having his record broken, McVicker, who just completed his sixth year as track coach at Fairmont Senior, said breaking his record had been a goal the pair had been working toward all year. When Zuchelli finished his 3200, his coach could not contain his excitement.

"I was running, I was trying to get on the field as much as I could," McVicker said of his initial reaction to the record-setting run. "I was super excited. That had been my goal from the beginning six years ago, I had dreamed of somebody breaking my record and I had never seen a two mile ran that fast in person. It was exciting, I'm still excited about it. I don't think it's settled in yet even though it's been about a week, and I couldn't be happier for him."

Zuchelli also set a class AA 1600 meter run at this year's state meet, breaking the previous best 4:17 time with his 4:15 effort.

Rewind four years ago, to Zuchelli's freshman year, and you might not have predicted he would break multiple state records. What McVicker described as an "unassuming" kid coming out of middle school standing 5-foot-4, Zuchelli did not instantly find success at Fairmont Senior.

"It took him a while to really develop into it," McVicker said. "He'd been to the state meet twice before in the two mile and I'm not sure if he ran under 10:20. He wasn't too impactful on the track team as an underclassman."

As the calendar flipped from 2019 to 2020, Zuchelli was building momentum, and looked primed to have a breakout junior season. The COVID-19 pandemic dashed those hopes, but did provide plenty of time for Zuchelli to train.

"I know he would've had a really good junior year," McVicker said. "But nobody got to see it. And so it might've seemed like a big shock to see him come from sophomore to senior, but he had been working so hard for those two years that it wasn't a surprise to us. He's just been great to work with."

There are reasons for concern over Zuchelli's vast improvement, notably his growth spurt of a whole foot from his freshman year. To hear player and coach theories, well, they give credit to each other.

"He's just wired differently. I always said he's a gamer," McVicker said. "He just feeds off championship races. Although he's a senior, he was very inexperienced when it came to the track. So I think that's why each time on the track this year he kept cutting more and more time, because he was getting more comfortable."

"I decided that I wanted to stick with it all four years," Zuchelli said. "I had the drive where I wanted to be good after my coach told me that I could be something, and I wanted to see if he was right."

Zuchelli's state success did not end after his 3200 and 1600 meter runs. He placed first in the 800 meter run, and anchored the first-place 4x800 meter relay, which also included Elijah Hannig, Jayden Richardson, and Tyler Hayes. The Fairmont Senior boys track team, around 20 strong, qualified eight for state.

While the team and Zuchelli have accomplished much under McVicker, Zuchelli values his coach as more than just that.

"It just started as any typical coach would whenever I came in," Zuchelli said of his and McVickers' bond. "But then it turned out he was just a really cool guy, someone who ended up being a really close friend."

What's next for Zuchelli? Running track at Concord University, where he will be coached by Mike Cox, who was the previous state meet record holder for the class AA 1600 meter run that Zuchelli broke as well.

Even as he departs from Fairmont Senior, Zuchelli's legacy will remain at the school for years to come.

"I think he's a perfect testament to what can happen within the program if you just dedicate yourself year-round," McVicker said. "Some of these guys who aren't where they want to be yet, they've gotten exposed to Logan and they've all seen him grow into what he is today. That's how he'll be remembered, consistent growth over four years— both literally and as a runner, because he did get pretty tall."

And with a nearly nine minute-flat 3200 meter time, Zuchelli's record looks like it will stick around Fairmont Senior for years to come as well.

Reach Nick Henthorn at (304) 367-254 or by email at nhenthorn@timeswv.com.