Zach Polen

Photo by: Craig Pessman, Illinois Athletics

Class:
Junior
Events:
FX, PH, SR, V, PB, HB
Hometown:
Dallas, Texas
High School:
Home School
Height:
5-7
Club Team:
Texas Champions

SENIOR YEAR | 2021: Team captain.

JUNIOR YEAR | 2020: Earned the team’s Most Valuable Gymnast award...team captain...competed on the vault and still rings during all six meets of the shortened season...also participated on the pommel horse (four times), high bar (three times) and parallel bars (twice)...registered a career-best 14.200 on the vault during the home finale with Stanford...that is the 12th-best vault score in program history...tallied a season-best mark of 13.500 on the still rings at the All Academy Championships...added a season-best pommel horse score of 12.300 at that meet...tallied a career-best 13.200 on the high bar and a season-best 13.250 on the parallel bars at Army West Point...earned CGA All-America Scholar-Athlete honors.

SOPHOMORE YEAR | 2019: USAG champion on the parallel bars...two-time USAG All-American (still rings, parallel bars)...scored a career-best 13.900 to win the parallel bars title at the USAG Championships...that is the 13th-best score in program history...debuted on the program’s top-15 all-time standings during a third-place performance at the All-Academy Championships (13.850)...NCAA qualifier on that event...also competed on the still rings and pommel horse...accounted for a career-best score of 13.550 on the still rings at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships...collected a third-place finish on that event at the USAG Championships (13.050) to garner USAG All-America status...posted a personal-best score of 13.100 on the pommel horse at the All-Academy Championships.

FRESHMAN YEAR | 2018: Competed on the parallel bars and high bar during eight meets...registered a personal-best parallel bars score of 13.466 for a top-20 finish at the NCAA National Qualifier (18th)...earned a top-five finish at the Arnold Challenge in Columbus (13.450, fifth)...scored a career-best high bar score of 13.150 at the All-Academy Championships...also competed on the still rings three times, posting personal-best marks of 12.900 at the Rocky Mountain Open and All-Academy Championships.

HIGH SCHOOL | CLUB TEAM: Homeschooled...competed at the club level for Texas Champions...coached by Logan Doughty...qualified to Nationals during every year of eligibility...finished second on the pommel horse at JE Nationals...named to the Region 3 JE team.

PERSONAL: Full name is Preston Zachary Polen...goes by Zach...son of Brian and Lisa Polen...has two younger brothers...majoring in management...future plans include becoming an intelligence office...currently serving as Athletics Officer for squadron...earned Jump Wings in the summer of 2019...hobbies include music and exploring Colorado...has been homeschooled since the first grade...competed for eight gyms in five states...worked Basic Cadet Training over the summer, overseeing the basics that were in quarantine and isolation...favorite event is the floor exercise, because “it’s the coolest to watch”...member of Cadet Squadron 31.