East Liverpool senior Maddox Roach has the top time in the 1600 meters entering the Division III state finals on Saturday. (Morning Journal/Maddox Roach)

EAST LIVERPOOL — East Liverpool senior Maddox Roach has put in the work.

At the top of his running game, he’s looking to end his high school athletic career on the top of the podium on Saturday night at the state track and field meet at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.

Roach comes into the meet with the best regional time in the Div. III 1600 meters at 4:15.42. That’s his season best. His personal best and school record came at the last year’s state meet when he ran 4:13.13.

Roach believes a lower time than that is possible at the state meet, but he also knows it’s going to be a very competitive race.

“I came in last year seeded third and came out seventh,” Roach said. “It’s not really what I wanted, but I feel like I am more fit than I was last year and now I’m more experienced. I kind of know how I want the race to go and how I want to control it. I think I’m pretty excited. I don’t want to say I’m necessarily nervous but I’m just excited to see how this race goes.”

Roach said he puts in the time studying film of the competitors to see how they race and believes he has a strategy to get finish on top.

“They’re going to try to — I don’t want to say sit and kick on me, but they’re going to try to just kind of sit and wait to see what I do,” Roach said. “So I can just kind of control that and keep them on tempo with me to see how the race plays out.”

Roach said he believes he has raced everyone who qualified for state at the state indoor meet where he won the mile in 4:21.87.

He knows he’ll have to be better than that Saturday.

“I think it will take maybe like a 4:12 or 4:11 to win,” Roach said.

He’s changed training tactics and his personal coach to Dan Kinsey to make that happen.

“Last year I think we focused more on my aerobic system and trying to get more aerobically fit because it was really, really weak in a way,” Roach said. “This year we’ve just been working on all our speed work and all the turnover.”

The focus on speed and power in distance running is becoming more the norm and Roach is trying to adapt.

“Back in time you never saw a 56 in your last lap of your 1600 or 54 in your last lap of your 1600,” Roach said. “You would always keep it even at one flat, one flat, one flat and one flat. Nowadays it’s like 1:03, 1:02, 1:02 and then you close with a 57.”

Following his state indoor championship, Roach entered in the New Balance Indoor Nationals in Boston and was immediately humbled by what he experienced after running a 4:20.76 mile.

“You could be the top dog around here with like a 4:19 and then you go out there and run a 4:19 and there’s dudes that are going 4 flat or 4:01,” Roach said. “It’s just kind of like you’re big in the small pond until they throw you in the big pond and you’re like ‘Whoa, I’m the small fish.'”

Roach, who is committed to Youngstown State where he will study business, will also race in the New Balance Outdoor Nationals set for June 18-21 at Franklin Field in Philadelphia.

It’s a big reward for a career that began in earnest during his sophomore season.

“That was the first time I made state in my individual event,” Roach said. “I was feeling good about it and then I ended up getting second to last and (realized) if I want to pursue my goals and I really want to get somewhere in this I have to go all in.”

Roach’s typical day of training during the school years started when he woke up at 5 a.m. to get to his 6 a.m. practice with Dan Kinsey. He says he got done around 7:50 a.m. and then went to school all day. After school he went to the high school practice and then home to recover.

“I try to get an ice bath and put on recovery boots then try to get like 8 hours of sleep,” Roach said.

Now that he’s graduated the early wake-up calls have stopped.

“I start at 9:30 now and I just go home and chill after that,” Roach said.

He’ll leave for Columbus on Saturday morning with the hopes that his race at 6:28 p.m. will result in a big celebration.

“I honestly feel really, really confident in my skills and about the things that I have worked on,” Roach said. “I’m really ready to race these guys.”

Meet notes

• Roach did not compete in this year’s Columbiana County meet because he wanted to go on the East Liverpool senior trip which was scheduled at the same time.

“I thought this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to go out there with my friends and to go enjoy this time with them,” Roach said. “I was thinking I have the rest of the season to run and I have the next four years at Youngstown to run. I was going to win the county in the 1600 and 800 probably pretty easily, so I just thought why not go out here and have fun with my friends?”

• Roach’s outdoor training for track and cross country over the years included climbing many of East Liverpool’s hills.

“It’s every day, every single day,” Roach said. “I live on top of a hill, so when I start I come down the hill and I run up all the hills and then at the end I’m like ‘Dang, I still have to come up this big hill’.”

• Roach played soccer and basketball in addition to cross country and track.

“Soccer helps me mentally because once you’ve run for three seasons straight it’s (taking a toll) on your body,” Roach said. “You’re sore all the time and I think soccer was a big break because I was out there having fun with my friends.”

Roach’s basketball career stopped after his junior year.

“I wasn’t too good at basketball,” Roach said. “I was trying to do indoor (track) and play basketball at the same time. So I would go to basketball practice and then after that I would have to go over to the YMCA and run 5 or 6 miles on the treadmill and then come home to eat, sleep and just try to do some homework. Then repeat that every day.”