It was a combination of talent and adrenaline that pushed Weedsport senior Zach Nevidomsky to break his own school record and take home the state title in the long jump Friday at the state championships.

“I knew I could get it,” Nevidomsky said. “I am always thinking about how I can do better and I didn't even think about the pain.”

The pain Nevidomsky was feeling was more than just a normal burn - it was pain from an accident he had while racing ATVs at age 15 when he herniated two discs in his back. Before the accident, Nevidomsky was a budding track star for the Warriors, breaking the school record in the long jump as a ninth grader and coming close to the 110-meter hurdles record as well. The injury threw him off of his path for a couple of years, making it impossible for him to compete.

“I just started recovering this season,” Nevidomsky said. “I can't practice or run, it hurts in my back so bad. It has been so bad that my legs would even go numb.”

His injury doesn't prevent him from jumping, but Nevidomsky said that by the third attempt in the long jump he's usually in pain. Coincidentally, it was his third jump that got him the state title.

Nevidomsky fouled on his first jump, got just over 21 feet in his second, then jumped further than ever in his third attempt, jumping 22 feet, 8 inches.

“I had jumped 21-11 in the state qualifiers and knew that if I had just brought my other leg up a little more I could have gotten over 22 feet, so that is what I concentrated on,” he said. “I think it's just about having the talent and then the adrenaline to get me over the pain, I just don't think about how much it hurts. I wanted to get 23 feet, I wish I had one more year.”

“We were confident that he could win it, especially when I saw how far he got in that last jump,” Weedsport coach Roger Jordan added. “I honestly thought at first that they had it wrong. I knew that he was capable of it though, as long as he was healthy enough his talent was never in question.”

Nevidomsky will undergo back surgery this summer, something else that he's confident about overcoming.

“They say that it will take about six months to recover, I am thinking about three to four though since I am young,” Nevidomsky said. “It is not over yet though for me and track, I am not done yet.”

Nevidomsky plans on attending Cayuga Community College for a year while he works construction with his father and recuperates from surgery. He hopes to transfer to Buffalo State the following year to continue his studies in criminal justice and his track and field career.

“As long as he can get healthy and do track and field at Buffalo he will more than likely be very successful in it,” Jordan added.

As for being the first state champion in Weedsport track and field history, Nevidomsky said he's excited to be able to go back to the school and see his picture on the wall someday, an honor he shares with his older brother Tyler Nevidomsky who was a member of the 2004 state champion Weedsport football team.

“He did all the work,” Jordan said. “I was just lucky enough to have him.”