Name: Zach Harrach
High School: Highland HS
Signed With: Mesa Community College
Coach Monty is certainly an iconic coach around Arizona, what were some of your favorites thing he did/memories you have of him?
One of my favorite things about coach Monty is how he would always tell us quotes or short motivational stories after a practice. They helped me realize how anything can be achieved through hard work. It is also great how he can whistle louder than just about anyone else, because hearing that during a race or workout helped me to keep on going. A good memory of him was the look on his face when we won the 4x800m at state. He knew that he had coached us well and he was glad to see us win.
If you had you choose...XC or track and why?
If I had to choose, I would choose track because there is a wide variety of events and there isn't always just one person that dominates in every race like in xc. Also because I love to run the mile in track because it is a great race and it is the race that a lot of people seem to care about the most.
Highland has had a habit of putting out good 800 runners, tell us what I was like to be a part of such a special program?
It just felt great knowing that we always had great 800 runners that were capable of running some of the fastest times in the state. It was great to see how the team had strong 4x800 teams since my freshman year, and to be a part of it my senior year was a great experience. It also helped us build confidence as a team, knowing that each member of the team was capable of running a strong 800.
What are you looking forward to most about college?
In college I'm looking forward to having less classes and meeting new people. I can't wait to improve as much as I possibly can in cross country and track. I also look forward meeting my new teammates and going on many runs with them.
What made you choose MCC?
I chose MCC because Coach Pescador is a great coach and he has some similar coaching methods to Coach Monty. He used to be an assistant coach at Highland so I am glad that I will be coached by him now. Coach Pescador has organized a great team and I think the team has a chance of doing well at nationals. I also think that I have a good chance of doing well as an individual at nationals because there is less competition when compared to 4 year universities. I also think it will be fun to switch from MCC to a 4 year university after 2 years because it will be another big change and an exciting experience.