Senior Zach Long has come a long way as a runner for Tennessee since his freshman year. After joining the Vols from Rutledge, Tennessee, Long has proven himself to be an important part of Tennessee’s roster. Whether it’s indoor and outdoor track and field or cross-country, Long has impacted Tennessee running since he joined the Vols as a recruit from Grainger County High School.
After being recruited by head coach Beth Alford-Sullivan, Long eventually decided to join the Vols after debating between various college offers. In the end, it came down to Tennessee or Ole Miss, and Long decided to stay in-state to become a part of a predominantly young team.
“I’m excited about our team and the possibilities we have this season,” Long said. “We finally have a little bit of seniority on the team, where it’s been a bunch of young guys all the way through. We finally have some leaders like myself, Wes and Brad. I think we can make a big impact in the SEC.”
While Long may be looking forward to this season, his past three years as a UT runner are anything but forgettable. In his junior year alone, Long broke multiple school records and hit various personal bests.
Some of his record-breaking races include the Stanford Invite, where he claimed a win in the 5000m with a time of 13:39.22, and the Bob Pollock Invitational, where he beat Glenn Morgan’s 1990 school record and became the first Vol to run a sub-eight-minute indoor 3000m with a time of 7:59.15.
Long is hoping to make just as big of an impact his senior year as he has in seasons past. He is already off to a strong start after being named this week’s SEC Runner of the Week.
“For indoor, I’d love to break four in the mile,” Long said. “That is a huge goal of mine that I’ve been eyeballing since I got to Tennessee. It’s kind of the ultimate distance goal to break.”
Along with the fans, his teammates and coaches have been able to watch Long grow as a runner and create a name for himself along the way. For those who have been with him since day one, such as Alford-Sullivan, Long has proven himself to be a very proactive and coachable athlete.
“Zach has gotten better every single year,” stated Alford-Sullivan. “He’s gotten better physically, mentally; he’s gotten a lot tougher, and strategically he’s gotten to be a much better competitor. That’s where I’ve seen the biggest growth from him … is to understand how a race plan can work and how to control the outcome by being in control of his race.”
Growing up just 33 miles outside of Knoxville, Long decided to take his talent somewhere meaningful and local, so he planted himself and his talents at Tennessee. When asked what kept him motivated, Long cited his pride in being a Vol.
“Just wearing the orange and white is enough motivation for me,” Long said. “There (are) a lot of great runners that came to Tennessee before me and laid the groundwork. Just being able to represent them and represent my hometown, I take a lot of pride in that, and that’s what keeps me going.”
Long is expected to run next on Sept. 28 at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational in Madison, Wisconsin.
