Zach Prescott joined the American University cross country and track staff for a second time starting in the summer of 2022, after one year as the Director of Track & Field Operations at the U.S. Naval Academy. His first stint at AU was as a volunteer assistant coach for the Eagles during the 2020-21 season.
In his first season with the team, Zach saw the Men’s team finish their highest at the Patriot League Championships since 2017 (5th) and the women finish their highest since 2018 (6th). Zach has seen 111 top 10-marks set throughout the course of the indoor and outdoor season including 17 school records. Under his guidance, Zach helped Row Sullivan secure a Patriot League Podium finish in the indoor 3000m in 2023, as well as a Patriot League Runner-up finish from Kaden Kluth in the indoor 800m. On the recruiting side, Zach has managed recruiting for the 2023, 2024, and 2025 classes.
In his second year at AU, the women finished seventh at the Patriot League Championships, proceeding to place 21st at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional with five women setting personal bests in the 6k. On the track, the Eagles set program top-10 times in events ranging from the 200 meters to the 5k. The men’s program placed seventh at the Patriot League Indoor Championships, with sophomore Kaden Kluth placing second in the 800 in a program record to earn Second Team All-Patriot League honors, and ninth outdoors. The women’s program placed ninth indoors, and 10th outdoors, with freshman Lorelei Bangit placing second in the 400 and breaking her own program record in the event. Five athletes were named to the All-Academic Patriot League Team in the indoor and outdoor seasons combined, while the men’s and women’s track team set a program record of 36 athletes named to the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll.
In his third year with the program, Zach led the women’s cross country program to a successful campaign, with the program placing seventh at the Patriot League Championships and several athletes setting personal bests throughout the season. He helped the AU women run 24 top-10 times in the indoor and outdoor track seasons, while the men’s and women’s distance program ran a total of 40 new top-10 times and 132 personal bests. Seniors Lucia Ianello and Kirah Tianga left marks on the program, each running top-10 times in the indoor 800, indoor 1k, and indoor and outdoor 4x800 relay. Sixteen distance women were named to the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll in the 2024-25 academic year. On the men’s side, Kaden Kluth earned a Patriot League title in the 1500 and Carver Morgan earned titles in the indoor and outdoor 800; both were the first Eagles to qualify for the NCAA East First Round since 2019, with Kluth placing 37th in the 1500 and Morgan placing 26th in the 800.
While at Navy, Zach managed a large roster of over 180 athletes helping the program win a total of eight Patriot League Titles in Cross Country, Indoor, and Outdoor Track and Field. Zach served as the primary point of contact for Navy Track and Field athletes regarding scheduling, logistics, academics, meals, and other student athlete related balancing. Zach also privately coached several post-collegiate athletes during this time from distances ranging from the mile to the marathon.
No stranger to the Patriot League, Prescott had a successful career at Boston University, first as a walk-on and then as a scholarship student-athlete. As a senior, he was fifth at the Patriot League Championships in the 3000m steeplechase, picking up a new PR of 9:07.85. He also broke a novelty World Record in the mile while juggling. Prescott was a six-time Patriot League Academic honor roll selection and graduated in 2019 with a degree in business administration & management. He spent the next year living abroad in Sydney, Australia, and trained with the Sydney University Athletics Club while working at the Australian Catholic University. During his time in Australia, Prescott also spent five months working on a farm in rural New South Wales and had the opportunity to train with several high profile Australian distance runners including Jessica Hull. Â
A native of Weymouth, Mass., Prescott now lives in Arlington, Va.
Updated July 9, 2025
