SPRINGDALE -- A doctor diagnosed Zach Burton with tendinitis in his left knee and warned him he needed rest when he was a sophomore.
He cautioned the Springdale High multi-sport athlete that failing to do so could lead to an injury.
At A Glance
Zach Burton
School: Springdale High
Class: Senior
Notable: Springdale’s boys track MVP last year. … Competes in the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash, 4x100-meter relay, long jump and triple jump. … Team captain and all-conference receiver for the football team. … Contributor on the basketball team. … Voted student council president and Color’s Day king as a senior. … Earned full academic scholarship to Ohio State.
"But I felt like I couldn't stop or anything," Burton said. "Just had to keep rolling."
Two years later, Burton partially tore his patella tendon while returning a kickoff early in his senior football season at Springdale. Recovery time for surgery would take six to nine months.
But that wasn't an option, at least not for Burton. He returned to action a few games later.
"Whenever Zach told me how bad his knee was I just thought, 'Man, I'm not going to get to play with him again,' but sure enough, he became my biggest target week 10," then-Springdale quarterback Fuller Chandler said.
Football season ended in early November, but he still hasn't had surgery five months later. There's too much to do and no time to be sidelined by long recoveries.
Burton's list of commitments is lengthy and impressive.
He was voted a captain for the football team. He was voted student council president in the fall. He was voted Color's Day king in the spring. He made the decision to attend Ohio State, which gave him a full academic scholarship. And he contributed on Springdale's basketball team this year while playing with the bad knee.
"As far as sports and academics, I'd say Zach's probably more (involved) than anybody else," basketball coach Brad Stamps said of the players he's coached.
And now he's running track on one good leg. Even so, he's one of the Bulldogs' top athletes.
Last year, he was named the boys' team MVP after contributing in five events. So far this year, he's only run the 100-meter dash and the 4x100 relay while battling the knee issues.
"He's one of our best sprinters and hopefully by conference time and state time, he'll be back up at the level he was at last year," coach Britt James said.
And that's the plan.
Burton will miss a meet this weekend while visiting Ohio State with his parents, but plans to start running the 200 -- his best race -- when he gets back.
"For conference, I'll definitely pick back up triple jumping and long jumping just for points," Burton said.
The 7A-West Conference meet is April 30 and the state meet is in early May. He competed at state and the Meet of Champions as the anchor leg of Springdale's 4x100 relay team last year, but hopes to also qualify for state individually this year.
If he does, it would be just the latest among many accomplishments to add to his already impressive resume. He'll graduate this spring having made a mark at Springdale, whether it be earning all-conference football honors, sitting in on administrative meetings as a student-body representative, staying at Bulldog Gym until 2 a.m. to make final preparations for upcoming pep rallies or being voted into numerous prestigious positions by his classmates.
"He's a great kid," said Springdale STUCO vice president Payton Perry. "It's honestly really hard not to like Zach Burton. He just treats everybody right. There's not a stranger to him."
There's a simple explanation for his success.
"I'm just me," Burton said. "That's all I can do."
That's worked out pretty well for him.
Jimmy Carter can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWAJimmy.
Sports on 04/09/2015