United Local junior Kaleb Nastari, shown here running in the 3200-meter relay on Wednesday at Massillon Perry, has the state 800 record for Div. III. (Photo by Ron Firth)
HANOVERTON — Between farmers fields at quiet United High School, one of the top distance runners in the Ohio is by himself taking laps around the track.
It’s only appropriate since United junior Kaleb Nastari has been running out front all alone this season.
Nastari, who set the Division III state record in the 800 meters the last two Fridays, comes into this weekend’s state track meet with the best time by more than three seconds.
“When I hit 1:55, I knew I could start running like that,” Nastari said. “I wasn’t really nervous trying to get where I am now.”
“I think he has quiet confidence,” United boys coach Jordan Wrask said. “We kind of expected to be at this point, but still cautious along the way.”
Nastari broke his own state record in winning the Massillon Perry regional title in 1 minute, 51.41 seconds last Friday.
“I’ve got a lot more people saying, ‘Good job,’ after I’m doing running,” he said. “I’m just randomly walking and there are people who know who I am.”
Only a month ago they didn’t.
He went under the two-minute mark for the first time in his ninth-place finish at the Division III state meet at Westerville North High School last year.
Then Nastari ran 1:55s at Tuscarawas Valley on April 29 and the Columbiana County Meet in Salem on May 4.
“Around our area, obviously our community and any of the conference schools, knew,” Wrask said. “I think it really started to put a lot of people on notice of the ability we knew he possessed.”
Then came the Optimist Meet at Austintown Fitch on May 7. Canfield senior Nick Plant, the defending Division I 800-meter state champion and one of the top runners in the country, won in a meet-record 1:51.73. Nastari was right behind at 1:52.89, the only time he didn’t win this season.
Nastari doesn’t know if Plant knew who he was then. He probably does now.
“It gave me the mindset of what it takes to actually run like that,” Nastari said. “I kind of needed that.”
“Seeing him run at the Optimist kind of opened our eyes,” Wrask said.
The two state records came soon after that.
“When he’s continually doing that week after week, then everyone really notices at that point,” Wrask said.
Nastari’s rapid rise can be attributed to one thing.
“He’s been healthy all season,” Wrask said. “He didn’t miss any of that time he did last year.”
Nastari, a two-time state qualifier in cross country, started weight training last summer to help reduce injuries.
“I was having some knee problems last year throughout track and cross season,” he said. “That’s really what was holding me back. We were hoping weight training would help with that and it did.”
All coaches have to do is give him a mark and he hits it every time. Nastari knows what his time is without a watch.
“We don’t really go too much into it with him, just one day at a time,” Wrask said. “We kind of let him know what the (other) times are.”
Only two United distance runners in the last 50 years have placed at the state track meet in an individual event — Eric Brye and Allison Parks. Nastari can join the group this weekend.
Nastari will run in the Division III 800-meter state final at 10:55 a.m. Saturday at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium on the campus of Ohio State University.
“I’ve never seen the track,” Nastari said. “It’s my first time seeing it all.”
He only has one goal for the weekend.
“Just come out with a win,” Nastari said. “That’s the main goal.”
• Nastari is recognized by the white tights he wears. It has nothing to do with keeping his legs warm.
“Back in the seventh grade I used to wear tights because I didn’t like how short the shorts were,” he said. “And I kind of just stuck with the tights.”
• Another thing he started wearing this year is a headband.
• “We had someone on the team (Nick Hardgrove) start that,” Nastari said. “The 4×4 just wore them. Eventually we were on the 4×8 team, so we all wore the headbands.”
“The headbands are a big thing with that whole running crew,” Wrask said. “They call themselves the ‘Headband Band.'”
• Nastari played on the junior varsity basketball team this past season and will contend for a starting spot on the varsity team next season.
“Basketball,” he said. “I find the most enjoyment out of it. Something about the practices, to me, I like.”
The might surprise many about the track star.
“The meets are fun, but practices, not too much,” Nastari said.
• Besides basketball and track, some of his other activities are shooting clay pigeons, swimming and hiking.
“They are all things I like to do,” he said.
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