2018 Men's Cross Country Roster

Zach Swenson

  • Class Graduate Student
  • Year of Eligibility Senior
  • Hometown Boulder, Colo.
  • Highschool Fairview

Biography

CAREER COLLEGIATE RESULTS

Five-year member of the Villanova cross country and distance group from 2014-19 ... Won a BIG EAST title as part of the Wildcats lineup in the 4x800 meter relay at the 2018 indoor conference championships ... Was a four-time BIG EAST scorer in all during his career ... Top events were the 1500 meters outdoors and the Mile indoors ... Raced at every distance from 500 meters on the track up to 10000 meters in cross country ... Civil Engineering major and Political Science minor at Villanova who was a five-time selection to the BIG EAST All-Academic Team and a six-time member of the Athletic Director's Honor Roll ... Also was an ROTC member while at Villanova.
 
PERSONAL BESTS
400 Meters 49.6 High School
500 Meters 1:06.75 David Hemery Valentine Invitational (2.14.2015)
800 Meters 1:53.54 BIG EAST Championships (2.22.2019)
1000 Meters 2:28.94 Wesley A. Brown Invitational (1.12.2019)
1500 Meters 3:51.12 BIG EAST Championships (5.12.2017)
Mile 4:09.44 Columbia Challenge (1.27.2018)
3000 Meters 8:35.42 Nittany Lion Challenge (1.13.2018)
5000 Meters 16:29 High School
6000 Meters (XC) 20:08.9 Big 5 Invitational (9.11.2015)
4 Miles (XC) 20:12.3 Main Line Invitational (9.14.2018)
8000 Meters (XC) 25:00.9 Princeton Invitational (10.12.2018)
5.2 Miles (XC) 26:11.8 Penn State National Open (10.13.2017)
10000 Meters (XC) 31:49.2 NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional (11.10.2017)

HONORS AND AWARDS

2018 INDOOR
BIG EAST Champion 4x800 Meter Relay (1st Leg - 1:56.30)
All-BIG EAST 4x800 Meter Relay (1st Leg - 1:56.30)

ACADEMIC HONORS

BIG EAST All-Academic Team 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19
Athletic Director's Honor Roll 2016-17: Fall, Spring; 2017-18: Fall, Spring; 2018-19: Fall, Spring
 

NCAA RESULTS

2018 CROSS COUNTRY (MADISON, WIS. | THOMAS ZIMMER CHAMPIONSHIP CROSS COUNTRY COURSE)
Date Distance Time Place
November 17 10000 Meters 32:38.5 10000 Meters
 

BIG EAST RESULTS

2019 OUTDOOR (NEW YORK, N.Y. | ICAHN STADIUM)
Date Event Time Place
May 10 1500 Meters (Preliminary Heats) 3:54.62 12th
May 11 1500 Meters (Final) 4:03.22 11th
2019 INDOOR (GENEVA, OHIO | SPIRE INSTITUTE)
Date Event Time Place
February 22 800 Meters (Preliminary Heats) 1:53.54 10th
2018 CROSS COUNTRY (CARMEL, IND. | NORTHVIEW CHURCH)
Date Distance Time Place
October 27 8000 Meters 25:51.9 32nd
2018 OUTDOOR (GENEVA, OHIO | SPIRE INSTITUTE)
Date Event Time Place
May 11 1500 Meters (Preliminary Heats) 3:54.56 11th
May 12 1500 Meters (Final) 4:06.10 8th
May 12 4x800 Meter Relay (2nd Leg) 7:48.42 5th
2018 INDOOR (STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. | OCEAN BREEZE TRACK & FIELD ATHLETIC COMPLEX)
Date Event Time Place
February 23 Mile (Preliminary Heats) 4:13.97 7th
February 24 Mile (Final) 4:13.09 8th
February 24 4x800 Meter Relay (1st Leg - 1:56.30) 7:32.76 1st
2017 CROSS COUNTRY (KENOSHA, WIS. | WAYNE E. DANNEHL NATIONAL CROSS COUNTRY COURSE)
Date Distance Time Place
October 28 8000 Meters 26:10.0 43rd
2017 OUTDOOR (VILLANOVA, PA. | VILLANOVA STADIUM)
Date Event Time Place
May 12 1500 Meters (Preliminary Heats) 3:51.12 9th
May 13 1500 Meters (Final) 3:58.38 10th
2017 INDOOR (STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. | OCEAN BREEZE TRACK & FIELD ATHLETIC COMPLEX)
Date Event Time Place
February 24 Mile (Preliminary Heats) 4:18.36 11th
February 25 Mile (Final) 4:14.86 9th
2016 CROSS COUNTRY (BRONX, N.Y. | VAN CORTLANDT PARK)
Date Distance Time Place
October 28 8000 Meters 26:45.5 54th
2015 OUTDOOR (VILLANOVA, PA. | VILLANOVA STADIUM)
Date Event Time Place
May 8 800 Meters (Preliminary Heats) 1:56.22 16th
2015 INDOOR (NEW YORK, N.Y. | NEW YORK ARMORY)
Date Event Time Place
February 28 500 Meters (Preliminary Heats) 1:07.87 9th

CROSS COUNTRY

2018: Competed in all six meets during the season and established personal best times on both four mile and 8000 meter courses; Main Line Invitational (9/14): Recorded a 16th place finish at the season opener and posted a time of 20:12.3 over four miles ... The time was a new personal best for a four-mile cross country race; Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational (9/28): Ran in the open race at the meet and recorded a time of 25:41.6 over 8000 meters; Princeton Invitational (10/12): Registered a time of 25:00.9 and came in 44th in a field of more than 200 runners; BIG EAST Championships (10/27): Recorded a 32nd place finish at the conference meet and recorded a time of 25:51.9 on the 8000 meter course at Northview Church; NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional (11/9): Tallied a 50th place overall finish at the regional meet and produced a time of 32:37.0 over 10,000 meters at Penn State; NCAA Championships (11/17): Recorded a time of 32:38.5 on the 10,000 meter course in his first career NCAA meet ... Placed sixth in the Villanova lineup and 235th overall at the meet.
2017: Competed in five races during the season and twice finished as one of the Wildcats scoring runners; Main Line Invitational (9/15): Came in fourth on the team and 13th overall with a time of 20:14.1 on the four-mile course at Haverford; Paul Short Run (9/29): Raced to a time of 25:04.6 over 8000 meters in the gold race at the Lehigh meet; Penn State National Open (10/13): Tallied a time of 26:11.8 over 5.2 miles to finish fourth in the Villanova lineup and in 32nd place overall; BIG EAST Championships (10/28): Posted a time of 26:10.0 in the 8000 meter race at the conference meet and finished in 43rd place overall; NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional (11/10): Produced a time of 31:49.2 over 10000 meters at the regional meet and tallied a 72nd place finish.

2016: Competed five times during the season and earned a spot in the Wildcats lineup at the BIG EAST Championships; Big 5 Invitational (9/9): Opened the season with a 34th place finish and a time of 20:29.4 over 6000 meters; Main Line Invitational (9/16): Recorded a time of 20:44.5 in the four-mile race and tallied a 28th place finish; Chile Pepper Festival (10/1): Registered a time of 26:04.6 in the 8000 meter race at Arkansas; Penn State National (10/14): Recorded a time of  27:25 on the 5.2-mile Penn State course; BIG EAST Championships (10/28): Finished in 54th place at the BIG EAST meet with a time of 26:45.5 over 8000 meters.

2015: Ran three races during the season; Big 5 Invitational (9/11): Came in 35th with a time of 20:08.9 over 6000 meters in his first collegiate cross country race; Main Line Invitational (9/18): Finished with a time of 21:12 over four miles at the Haverford course; Haverford Invitational (10/23): Placed 13th at the meet and covered the four-mile course in 20:53.1, shaving nearly 20 seconds off the time he had posted on the same course earlier in the season.

INDOOR

2019: Competed at five meets ... Recorded a personal best time in the 800 meters at the BIG EAST Championships and also established a new personal best in the 1000 meters during the year; Wesley A. Brown Invitational (1/12): Came in fifth in the 1000 meters with a personal best mark of 2:28.94 at the indoor season opener; Dr. Sander Invitational/Columbia Challenge (1/26): Anchored the 4xMile relay team to a third place finish and a time of 16:31.60 ... Villanova was the top collegiate team in the race behind two teams of athletes representing professional clubs ... The time is the second-fastest indoors in school history, trailing only a school record time of 16:19.0 which was set in 1976 at Dartmouth; Villanova Invitational (2/2): Came in sixth in the 800 meters in 1:53.70 at the Wilcats only home meet of the season; David Hemery Valentine Invite (2/9): Posted a time of 4:12.86 in the Mile in Boston; BIG EAST Championships (2/22): Came in 10th in the preliminary heats of the 800 meters and recorded a personal best time of 1:53.54 at the conference meet.

2018: Registered personal best times in the 800 meters, the Mile and the 3000 meters during the season ... Was part of a BIG EAST title in the 4x800 meter relay and also scored individually in the Mile at the conference championships ... Competed at a total of five meets during the indoor campaign; Nittany Lion Challenge (1/13): Recorded a personal best time of 8:35.42 in the 3000 meters and notched a 10th place finish in his first race of the year; Columbia Challenge (1/27): Competed in the seeded section of the Mile and posted a personal best time of 4:09.44; Villanova Invitational (2/3): Tallied his third personal best time in as many races to begin the year ... Recorded a time of 1:53.62 and an 11th place finish in the 800 meters at the Wildcats home meet; FastTrack National Invite (2/9): Came in fourth in the invitational section of the Mile with a time of 4:11.90; BIG EAST Championships (2/23-2/24): Contributed team points towards the Wildcats seventh indoor BIG EAST title both individually and as part of the champion 4x800 meter relay squad ... Led off the relay with a split of 1:56.30 and Villanova went on to win the race in 7:32.76 ... The conference title was the first of his career either indoors our outdoors ... Finished in eighth place in the final of the Mile with a time of 4:13.09 ... Had stood in seventh place overall after recording a time of 4:13.97 in the preliminary heats a day earlier.

2017: Competed at six meets during the season; Nittany Lion Challenge (1/14): Came in ninth in the 1000 meters with a time of 2:31.37; Gotham Cup (1/20): Runner-up in the Mile with a time of 4:20.35; Villanova Open (1/27): Registered a personal best time of 2:29.82 to place fourth in the 1000 meters; Villanova Invitational (2/4): Placed 16th in the 800 meters with a time of 1:55.99 at the Wildcats second straight home meet; FastTrack National Invitational (2/10): Posted a time of 4:17.93 in the Mile and placed 26th overall at the meet; BIG EAST Championships (2/24-2/25): Advanced to the final of the Mile and came in ninth overall ... Crossed the finish line in 4:14.86 to place ninth in the final after he had been 11th a day earlier with a time of 4:18.36 in  the preliminary heats.

2016: Competed four times as an unattached runner during the season and raced exclusively in the Mile; Jack Pyrah Invitational (12/5): Came in third in his first meet of the season with a time of 4:25.19; Great Dane Classic (1/16): Posted a time of 4:27.72 in the Mile; Villanova Invitational (2/6): Crossed the finish line in 4:18.99 to tally his best time of the season; FastTrack National Invitational (2/12): Came in ninth in the Mile with a time of 4:19.27.

2015: Competed at five meets during his rookie indoor campaign; Jack Pyrah Invitational (12/6): Made his collegiate debut at the Wildcats home meet held at Haverford ... Anchored a 4x400 meter relay squad which finished in second place with a time of 3:25.96 ... Also came in 13th individually in the 1000 meters with a time of 2:37.66; Gotham Cup (1/16): Ran the third leg of the 4x800 meter relay for a squad which came in first with a winning time of 7:49.23 ... Ran the 500 meters in 1:08.65 at the meet; Penn State National (1/31): Came in 17th in the 500 meters with a time of 1:08.06; David Hemery Valentine Invitational (2/14): Posted a personal best time of 1:06.75 in the 500 meters and came in 29th overall at the meet; BIG EAST Championships (2/28): Came in ninth in the preliminary heats of the 500 meters with a time of 1:07.87.

OUTDOOR

2019: Ran at three meets and competed exclusively in the 1500 meters ... Advanced to the final of the event at the BIG EAST Championships; Sam Howell Invitational (4/6): Recorded a season-best time of 3:52.75 and finished 16th in the seeded section of the 1500 meters in his first race of the outdoor season; Mason Spring Invitational (4/13): Recorded a time of 3:54.30 and finished 17th at the George Mason meet; BIG EAST Championships (5/10-5/11): Competed in the 1500 meters at the conference meet and advanced to the final where he placed 11th overall ... Had a time of 3:54.62 and ranked 12th in the preliminary heats before coming in 11th in the final in 4:03.22.

2018: Competed twice during the season and scored at the BIG EAST Championships individually in the 1500 meters and as part of the Wildcats lineup in the 4x800 meter relay; Kehoe Invitational (5/4): Came in third in the 1500 meters with a time of 3:52.62; BIG EAST Championships (5/11-5/12): Came in eighth in the 1500 meters and also ran the second leg of the 4x800 meter relay which finished in fifth place ... Villanova had a time of 7:48.42 in the relay ... Recorded a time of 3:54.56 in the preliminary heats of the 1500 meters and was ranked 11th overall heading into the final ... Moved up to an eighth place finish in the final with a time of 4:06.10.

2017: Competed at five meets during the season and primarily raced in the 1500 meters; Sam Howell Invitational (4/8): Opened the outdoor campaign by posting a time of 4:03.91 in the 1500 meters; Larry Ellis Invitational (4/22): Runner-up in the unseeded section of the 1500 meters with a time of 3:57.55; Haverford Invitational (4/26): Finished third in the 800 meters with a time of 1:53.96; Jim Kehoe Invitational (5/5): Came in seventh in the 1500 meters with a time of 3:58.22; BIG EAST Championships (5/12-5/13): Advanced to the final of the 1500 meters at the conference meet ... Posted a personal best time of 3:51.12 in the preliminary heats and was ranked ninth overall going into the final ... Finished 10th in the final with a time of 3:58.38 in a race that was run during a heavy rainstorm.

2015: Competed exclusively in the 800 meters at four meets during the season; Philadelphia College Classic (3/21): Runner-up in his first outdoor collegiate race with a time of 1:57.70 in the 800 meters; Delaware Open (4/11): Came in second at the meet with a time of 1:59.52; Larry Ellis Invitational (4/18): Posted a time of 1:56.79 in the unseeded section of the 800 meters; BIG EAST Championships (5/8): Recorded a season-best time of 1:56.22 in the preliminary heats of the 800 meters and placed 16th overall at the conference meet.
 

BEFORE VILLANOVA

Fairview High School: Two-time all-state runner in the relays, including the 4x800 meter relay in 2012 and the 4x400 meter relay in 2014 ... Earned all-region honors as a senior in 2014 ... His school's cross country team was the runner-up at the 2012 state championships ... Earned a Navy ROTC Scholarship and was voted his school's Student Body President.

Personal: Born 8/23/95 ... One of two children of Joe Swenson and Cyndy Heiner ... Has one sibling, Elle ... Civil Engineering major and Political Science minor.

Historical Player Information

  • 2015Sophomore

  • 2016Junior

  • 2017Senior

  • 2018Graduate Student