On a team of stars, Maher shines

CAS senior Zach Maher, co-captain of the men's cross country squad, has had a lot of success during his four years at NYU.

He continues to perform at the top of a very good team. And he has consistently chalked up numerous accolades, including UAA Athlete of the Week selection, the UAA Most Valuable Runner award and All-American status.

But Maher is proudest of his improvement over his four years on cross country.

"I went from being just another runner on the team to being one of the scorers [the top five finishers on each team] as the years went on," he said. "It's been better to see the improvement than win a specific race or award."

Maher's talent could have landed him spots on the cross country teams at many Division I schools, but he said he is glad he chose NYU.

"I visited a lot of schools to see their sports programs, but they weren't what I was looking for," he said. "I actually didn't do that with NYU, but once I met the coaches and the guys on the team, I was glad I came here."

The Violets will undoubtedly need Maher to score for them this Saturday at the NCAA Division III National Championship. Maher and his team hope to run a solid race to cap off a successful season. Individually, Maher looks to improve on his 34th-place finish from last year.

"Last year, I was in 99th after the first mile, so I really had to work to jump up to 34th," he said. "As a team, we need to avoid mistakes and run a smart race. It's a really big race with over 300 runners, so it's harder to take control in a race that size."

Despite the pressure that comes with big races, Maher and his teammates find ways to stay calm.

"One of the things you do to stay relaxed during races is to talk to your teammates," he said. "I'm not a big sports guy, but I had seen the Buffalo Bills on TV and decided that I liked them. So I spent the first few minutes of a race talking to [teammate] Matt Turlip about the Bills. I'm sure all the other runners must've been thinking 'What is wrong with these guys?,' but it helped me relax."

Both the men and women's cross country teams will participate in the NCAA Division III National Championship this Saturday at Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio.

Ryan Hepworth is a staff writer.