VILONIA — It’s hard to impress Vilonia’s Zach Rail, but his accomplishments speak for themselves.
Rail, 17 and a senior, is the two-time Class 5A state cross-country champion. As a sophomore, he finished seventh in a time of 17:39.7.
As a junior, he won in what was then a personal record 16:14.9, well ahead of runner-up Elijah Reading of Harrison (16:57.9).
As a senior, Rail rolled again by nearly 30 full seconds, clocking 16:11.8, ahead of second-place Hayden Anderson of Maumelle (16:41.6).
On the track, Rail has helped the Eagles win the past three state outdoor championships. After a stress fracture in his foot that hindered his sophomore outdoor season, as a junior Rail won the state title in both the 1,600 (4:37.19) and 3,200 (10:17.38) and finished runner-up to teammate Luke Matyja in the 800.
In the classroom, Rail sports a 3.9 grade-point average and has scored 32 on his ACT.
“It’s been a great run,” Rail said. “I know I’m not elite or anything, but I’ve been blessed to do as well as I have, and more important, I’m thankful for the friends I’ve made running and the hours I’ve spent with my team.”
Vilonia track coach Michael Stout called Rail “as good a young man as you’ll ever find.”
“He’s very, very humble,” Stout said. “He does not like to talk about himself. He’s a quiet leader, but you’re not going to find a better student-athlete.”
Rail said the 2013 cross-country championship stood out for him personally as “pretty amazing because it was a [personal record] by quite a ways, and obviously a victory.”
“I felt really good about that one,” he said. “This year I still won, but I didn’t run near a PR. It was still a good race, though.”
His personal record of 15:43 came at the Chili Pepper run in Fayetteville this fall.
He said although he’d accomplished all his high school cross-country goals, he didn’t get his time down as much as he’d hoped.
“I was hoping for under a 15:30,” he said.
Stout, however, said he would take a team full of Rails.
“He is one of the hardest-working young men I’ve ever been around,” Stout said. “This year’s track team will be built around the returning seniors, and Zach is one of those who will give us our best chance to repeat as state champion.”
Rail’s unselfishness is illustrated by last spring’s 5A-West Conference meet, Stout said.
“He didn’t run the mile or 2-mile, even though he had the opportunity to set the conference record in both, because he had already qualified for state in both events, and he wanted some of his buddies to qualify,” the coach said. “He was one of the first ones to speak up for that opportunity to help us win the state championship. He’s willing to give of himself for the team.
“I feel like that kind of leadership will step up again for us in the spring.”
Rail said he likes both cross country and track, and he’ll do both next year at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro.
“I like the kids on the team [at ASU],” he said. “I went to visit, and it all seemed pretty cool. It’s a place I’ll fit in. I liked the coach, and it’s just about the perfect distance from home.”
Rail is in an engineering club at Vilonia High School, and his other hobby is playing hacky sack.
He said he plans to study math and computer science at ASU.
“I’m not exactly sure what I want to do after that, but I want to be an entrepreneur,” he said.
However, his immediate focus is on his senior track season, where his main goal is to better the school record in the 1,600. The mark is 4:26; Rail’s PR in the event is 4:27.
“I hope to get down to 4:20 or lower,” he said.
Toward that end, he’s transitioned from cross country and is doing speed work and weight training in anticipation of track season.
Stout said Rail will be an asset not only to the ASU track and field program but also to the university itself.
“You did not have to embellish his letter of recommendation,” Stout said. “His GPA, his work ethic and his athletic achievements speak for themselves as far as what kind of young man he will become.”