CHRIS MANNING/For THe Express Jersey Shore’s Zack Kendall competes during last year’s state track and field championships in Shippensburg in the 300 hurdles. The Bulldog will be back at states this year in the 300 hurdles once again.

Following a promising sophomore campaign, Jersey Shore’s Zack Kendall would kick things up a notch as a junior, dropping almost four seconds off his marquee event — the 300 hurdles — and ultimately punching his first ticket to states. That set the bar high when it came to building upwards entering his senior season.

But despite the challenge, he’s been able to do just that. On top of maintaining the success he inhibited in the 300 as a junior, qualifying for states for a second straight season, he’d post considerable improvements in the 110-meter hurdles, a product of hard work and the further development of his technique.

“We kind of knew it was always going to be me getting my trail leg up to my chest,” said Kendall on his secondary event following a strong run at PHACs. “I would always hang it.”

Through his junior season, Kendall saw early success in the event, but steadily bled time in it down the stretch as more focus went into developing his 300. He’d go from a 16.11 in early April to times surrounding 17 and 18, good times for placing well at duals but a far cry from states.

However, come 2025, he’d put more focus into 110, and it’d show. In April, he hit his first sub-16 with a bronze-medal showing at the Don Wilhour Classic. Then, at PHACs, he’d post the biggest time drop of his career when he ran a 15.32 to take fourth – a PR by over six-tenths of a second.

“Halfway through that finals race, I finally started lifting my leg up and you could see my speed starting to catch everyone else,” said Kendall on the race. “So that’s really helped me build confidence, and I was really happy with that.”

With that boost, he’d go on to run the best two races of his career within the event at districts, hitting a PR of 15.17 in prelims and another – 15.15 – in the finals. And while he’d just miss the state-qualifying standard by an excruciating six-hundredths of a second, the effort was commendable and earned him a second top three finish with bronze.

Those heights carried into his 300-meter hurdles, where he’d post the best placement of his career, earning his first District 4 Class AAA gold with a 39.24 – a season best. With a second shot at Shippensburg, he’ll be looking to end his career on a high note this weekend.

Though his state seeding has him projected outside of the top eight, No. 15 out of the 30 athletes competing in the event, he believes he can prove the doubters wrong come Friday.

“My goal is to shock everyone and get into the finals,” said Kendall following his run at districts. “I know God’s got a plan for me, and I’m just gonna let him guide me wherever that may be.”

His preliminary race is set to take place around 2:30 p.m. on Friday.