Zach Herriott
Kansas City, KS
Rockhurst High School
University of Oklahoma
University of Virginia
Qualifying Time: 2:15.42
Like Sisson, Herriott is an All-Time Missouri great in cross country and track and field. The Kansas City, Kansas native crossed the border to run at Rockhurst High School in Kansas City, Missouri. Herriott steadily improved for coach Michael Dierks and accomplished things only a few have done in Missouri.
The 2012 Rockhurst alum just missed All-State honors as a sophomore in cross country, placing 26th at the 2009 Class 4 state race. He earned his first All-State honor in the spring, placing 8th in the Class 4 (of 4) in the 3200 in 9:31, after a PR of 9:22 earlier in the season.
Herriott made a big leap as a junior. In cross country he had a worst finish of 3rd during the school season, taking 3rd at Rim Rock HS XC Classic. Herriott claimed the Class 4 state title by nearly 7 seconds. He followed with a 2nd-Team NXR Midwest All-Region finish, taking 12th in Terre Haute.
A year later, Herriott broke the Forest Park XC Festival meet record, running 15:10 on the Central Fields Course. State saw a disappointing finish for Herriott, taking 13th. However, he rebounded nicely, placing 4th at NXR Midwest in 16:00 to qualify for nationals.
Not only did Herriot join elite company in qualifying for one of the high school cross county national meets, but he also shined in a national meet. Herriott ran 15:37 at NXN meet to place 9th overall.
Herriott finished 3rd in the 3200 in the 2012 Class 4 (of 4) state race in a PR of 9:15. He finished with a 1600 PR of 4:22 while improving on that with a 4:22 full mile at the Festival of Miles. Herriott then finished his high school career with a Midwest Distance Festival full 2-mile of 9:10.50.
Herriott redshirted at Oklahoma for a year under Martin Smith but transferred to Virginia after Smith left OU for Iowa State.
Herriott was a 4-time NCAA Southeast All-Region performer (top 25) for Virginia, placing as high as 9th as a senior. He ran at 4 NCAA Cross Country Championships for the Cavaliers. He placed 93rd as a freshman, 81st as a sophomore, and 171st as a junior. As a senior in 2016, he ran 30:34.1 to place 53rd, just off the previously honored Top-40 American All-American Team. He helped Virginia to 13th, 21st, 22nd, and 18th-place national finishes.
On the track, Herriott qualified for three NCAA East Preliminary Round championship meets in the 10,000 meters. Herriott just missed qualifying for nationals twice. He placed 14th in 2015 and 15th in 2017 in the 48-man races where the top 12 finishers advance to nationals.
Herriott quit running after college. He had knee surgery and eventually returned to running after a few years off. Herriott got back to running in 2020 and tried but came up short of qualifying for the 2020 Olympic Marathon Trials. However, Herriott earned a qualifying mark early in the qualifying window for this year's race.
Herriott lives in Washington D.C. racing for Bandit Running and Georgetown Running Club. Herriott's marathon person best and OT qualifying mark came in December of 2022 at the California International Marathon, where he ran 2:15.42. He lists his favorite running memory as "Winning the 2010 Missouri High School Cross Country State Championship. The year before, I finished 26th and missed All-State by one spot. I was so disappointed, so I made it my goal to win state the following year. I trained as hard as I possibly could and achieved my goal. I learned so much about discipline and hard work during that time, and winning state gave me the confidence to keep setting my goals high for the rest of my running career."