Zach Ayers

Photo by: Eric Mason, UCCS Athletics

Photo by: Chris Floyd

Class:
Senior
Hometown:
Davis, Calif.
Squadron:
22 Raptors
High School:
Davis Senior

AIR FORCE HIGHLIGHTS

All-Mountain West, Cross Country (2024)

JUNIOR YEAR | 2024: Earned the program’s Most Valuable Runner award…all-conference honoree…Falcons’ top finisher in final three meets…earned second-team all-MW status after placing ninth at the Mountain West Championships (24:33.6)…earned a top-100 finish at Pre-Nationals, finishing 99th out of 250 runners with a career-best 8K time of 23:53.6…posted a 10K time of 29:55.6 to finish 28th at the NCAA Mountain Regional…opened the season with a 24:00.3 finish at the Nuttycombe Invitational, finishing 32nd out of 188 athletes as the team’s No. 2 runner…academic all-conference.

SOPHOMORE YEAR | 2023: Raced in four meets, including the conference championships…clocked a personal-best 8K time of 24:37.4 at the Virginia Invitational (127th)…also ran that distance at the Mountain West Championships (24:39.3, 42nd) and Nuttycombe Invitational (25:11.9, 221st)…opened the season at the Air Force Classic, finishing sixth with a five-mile time of 26:09…academic all-conference.

FRESHMAN YEAR | 2022: Competed in three meets…posted an 8K best of 26:06.3 to finish 79th out of 323 runners at the Woody Greeno/Jay Dirksen Invitational…added a 26:45.5 finish to place 21st at the UCCS Open…made collegiate debut at the Air Force Classic, completing the four-mile course in 21:52…competed in the USATF U20 Championships, finishing 14th with an 8K time of 24:38.2.

MAJOR TRACK & FIELD HIGHLIGHTS: Debuted in the Air Force Top 10 in three events during the 2024-25 season…clocked the third-fastest outdoor 5000-meter time (13:36.08) at the Stanford Invitational…posted the fifth-fastest indoor time at that distance (13:41.53, adjusted for altitude) during a scoring finish at the Mountain West Championships…also accounted for the seventh-fastest 3000-meter time in Air Force history at the Husky Classic (7:54.94) during the indoor season.

HIGH SCHOOL: Davis Senior High School…claimed All-America honors in the two-mile run at Nike Outdoor Nationals in back-to-back years (2021, 2022)…set a personal-best time of 8:58 at the 2022 meet…California DI state champion in the 3200-meter run as a senior, following an 8:56 performance…also claimed three CIF Sac-Joaquin Section titles that year (cross country, 1600-meter run, 3200-meter run)…finished 21st at the 2021 Eastbay Nationals…posted a career-best cross country 5K of 14:53 at the league championship meet.

PERSONAL: Full name is Zachary Robert Ayers…goes by Zach…nickname is “Oonga”…son of Shaun and Joanne Ayers…father was a member of the football team at UC Davis…has one older sister…majoring in geospatial science…future plans include becoming a pilot…named to the Dean’s List and Athletic Director’s List…currently service as A1 Lead…served as a member of the A3 staff in the Basic Command Center during both sessions of Basic Cadet Training…earned Jump Wings in the summer of 2023…played lacrosse for six years before switching to track and cross country…hobbies include hunting, fishing, backpacking, freediving, and archery…uncle, Marc Gougeon, served in the Marines…has an aunt and uncle that played college sports – Jeremy Asher (football, Oregon), Bryn Asher (water polo, Santa Clara)…member of Cadet Squadron 22.