Franklin Pierce University Director of Athletics Bruce Kirsh announced on Oct. 13 that Zach Emerson was named the new head coach of the men's and women's track & field and cross country programs. 

Franklin Pierce is sponsoring the sport of track & field for the first time in school history, while also reinstituting the sport of men's cross country to compete alongside the current women's cross country program. The Ravens will begin competition during the 2012-13 season and will practice outdoor track at the Conant High School track facility (approx. 5 miles north of campus in Jaffrey). The team will practice indoors at the Northfield Activities Center on the Rindge campus.

"I believe Zach Emerson will do a great job in building our track & field and cross country programs here at Franklin Pierce," Kirsh said. "He has head coaching experience at both the high school and college levels and has produced outstanding results during that time. I think he will do a great job in relating to our student-athletes and will help make their educational experience a great one here at Franklin Pierce."

Emerson comes to Franklin Pierce after spending the 2010 and 2011 seasons in the same capacity at New England College of Henniker, N.H. Emerson led the men's cross country team to the 2011 North-Atlantic Conference team championship; the first title in school history. The women's team had a fifth-place showing at the conference championship, as well as producing multiple performances on the school’s all-time list. The 2010-11 cross country teams had five student-athletes earn All-Conference Academic distinctions and tied for the highest GPA of any team at NEC for the entire school year.

In addition, coach Emerson guided 17 All-Conference first-team award winners, four individual conference champions, the 2011 ECAC individual men’s cross country champion, as well as an individual qualifier for the 2011 NCAA DIII National Cross Country Championship in Oshkosh, Wisc.

Emerson came to NEC after serving three successful seasons as the head coach of both the boy's cross country and track programs at Concord High School (NH).  Emerson made a tremendous impact while at Concord leading the cross country team to the 2009 Manchester Invitational Championship large school division and qualifying for the New England Championships as a team twice.  In addition to his success in cross-country, Emerson led the Tide to back-to-back state championships in the 4x800m relay, as well as individual class state champions and medalists in nearly every event on the track.

"I'm really looking forward to the opportunity and challenge of building a track & field program from the ground up here at Franklin Pierce," Emerson said. "Franklin Pierce has so much to offer to a prospective student-athlete and I really believe that this will be a program that young people everywhere will want to be a part of both academically and athletically."

The cornerstones of the Franklin Pierce University Track & Field/Cross Country programs will be commitment and continuity. As a distance coach, Emerson utilizes a modern take on the Arthur Lydiard Model, with an influence of the Dr. Daniels’ Running Formula. The goal is to evolve week-after-week into the most efficient distance running machines as possible. The result is a year-round focus on healthy high-mileage/aerobic capacity, with a heavy emphasis on each athlete's individual long term threshold development. “Every day, you are a better runner than you were the day before— living in a constant state of in-betterment.”

Emerson was a four-year captain of both the cross country and track teams at Division I Mount St. Mary's University (Emmitsburg, Md.). While at Mount St. Mary's, Zach was a multiple conference champion and qualified for the NCAA Regional in the steeplechase. Zach finished his career leaving a mark on the school's all-time record list in the 3000m, 5000m, distance medley relay and the 3000m steeplechase. Emerson graduated from Mount St. Mary's in 2007 with a degree in computer information systems and is currently working towards the requirements for a master's degree in sports and recreation management. Zach is a USATF level 1 certified coach and he appears on the USATF coaches' registry list and currently resides in Hopkinton, N.H. with his wife, Kimberly, and their daughters, Maisie and Ruby.