Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302
(written by Emily Zadny, Student Sports Information Assistant)
Mar. 8, 2016 - What started as an after-school social activity has turned into a passion over the last decade for North Central College junior men's track and field athlete Zach Kirby.
"I started track in middle school, where it was more of a social gathering than a competition," he said. "Soon the social aspect was exchanged for overall competitiveness and that is what motivated me to compete in college."
The St. Charles, Illinois native has been involved in athletics from a young age, taking advantage of sports offered through his school or outside organizations. His main focuses became football, basketball, and track. During his freshman year at North Central, he was a member of the football team before injury sidelined him and drew his attention to track and field.
"Playing multiple sports allows you to maximize your overall athleticism in ways you would not be able to achieve just competing in one sport," he said. "Football developed my toughness, dedication and the importance of working hard while basketball allowed me to improve on hand eye coordination and my overall cardio abilities. Both of these sports made me a better track athlete."
Kirby's athleticism opened the doors to numerous opportunities in track and field, including competing at the prestigious Penn Relays in high school against international competition.
At North Central, he has been on the travel squad for the Drake Relays in the outdoor season as well as competing at the NCAA Division III Outdoor National Championship in 2014. He will be making his first trip to the Division III Indoor Championships this weekend, running in the 4-by-400-meter relay.
"Running at nationals was a dream come true; I have always dreamed of competing on the national spotlight," said Kirby. "But when the time came, it was just another meet where I would run the exact same way I would any other meet. It was a cool experience, no doubt, but in reality it is just another meet that I got to run in."
It seems as though every time he steps up to the line, Kirby delivers for his team. Last season, despite being plagued by a torn quadriceps muscle, he finished third in the 400-meter dash with a personal-best 49.85 and was a member of the winning quartet in the 4-by-400 meter relay at the Chicagoland Championships. Kirby capped off the season with a fifth-place finish at the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) Indoor Championship for 400 meters.
This season, he set an indoor personal best of 22.95 in the 200-meter dash at the Olivet Nazarene Invitational on Feb. 6 and helped lead the 4-by-400 relay to the seventh-fastest time in the nation (3:18.53).
Following in the footsteps of great athletes, Kirby has grown both as an athlete and a leader.
"Growing up I loved watching Dee Brown play basketball for Illinois. I loved how he played with such heart and passion and ever since then I always tried to mimic his actions when I was competing in sports," said Kirby.
"Another role model of mine is Derek Nelson. Derek was a teammate of mine during my first two years at North Central and now is one of my coaches. He taught me how to be a better student-athlete and even a better person, which is something I will forever be thankful for."
The advice from his coaches and surrounding himself with athletic excellence has created the perfect foundation for his role as a leader on the track and field team.
"Being an upperclassman and a leader for a very young team presents many challenges," he said. "I have to approach each practice, lifting session, and meet with the mentality that I am a role model. I also enjoy being a resource for first-year student-athletes because I know exactly what it feels like to be new to a team or go hard times."
His teammates are not the only people who see him as a leader. A Resident Assistant in Schneller Hall, Athlete Mentor, accounting tutor, and EDGE monitor are only a few of his leadership pursuits. The accounting and finance double major was a Federal and State and Local Tax Intern at Illinois Tool Works (ITW) summer and a Governmental Accounting Intern at Sikich this past fall.
Looking ahead to the summer, Kirby has landed himself an internship with PricewaterhouseCoopers, one of the Big Four accounting firms.
Kirby credits his extracurricular activities to developing his leadership abilities as well as helping him juggle the crazy schedule of a student-athlete.
"It may sound a little insane, but I do my best work when I am stressed and under pressure. I need to constantly be busy in order to stay focused on both my short term and long-term goals," he said. "One skill I mastered is staying organized and managing my time— I have several calendars with all my different schedules and it allows me to stay on top of everything.
"I have also learned that when I do have some time to myself, enjoy it, because it does not come around very often."
While his busy schedule does not let up soon, Kirby is optimistic for continued success in the indoor season.
"Indoor season is always a rollercoaster ride with many ups and downs. Track and field is a long season, but as a team we are off to a great start with many solid marks across the board. The next few weeks will show a lot of what the team can achieve coming up to conference.
The only goals I have for the season is to stay healthy and do everything in my power to help achieve our team's goals of winning conferencing and bringing home a trophy from nationals."
The Cardinals prepare for the NCAA Division III Indoor National Championships in Grinnell, Iowa this weekend, looking for their fifth indoor national title.
