Catching Up With Zach Cram '19

4/13/2023

From the moment he arrived at N.C. State, Zach Cram worked like crazy to earn a time in an event that would qualify him for the NCAA Division I swimming nationals.

Four years and a zillion laps of the pool later, the 2019 Collegiate graduate finally achieved that mark when he swam the 200 backstroke in a lifetime best 1:40.49 in the Bulldog Invitational Last Chance Meet at the University of Georgia just a month before the championship meet.

He was elated, of course. He’d paid his dues. All his work had come to fruition. Competing with his Wolfpack teammates at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center at the University of Minnesota would be a dream come true.

Problem was, it didn’t happen.

NCAA rules, you see, allow teams to enter a max of 18 swimmers in nationals. Cram was No. 19. He learned his fate two weeks beforehand and, nevertheless, opted to accompany his teammates to Minneapolis anyway. Never thought twice, in fact.

Being in the pool would have been great, he knew, but being on deck and in the stands, loudly encouraging his guys, would be a meaningful experience and spoke loudly and clearly to the sportsman that he is.

“It was disappointing, but I told myself that the only thing I could control was making the meet,” he said. “I’m only in control of how fast I go. Throughout my time here and swimming for Collegiate, you learn that it’s about the team. I couldn’t control if I’m the odd man out or not.”

At Collegiate, Cram earned multiple All-Prep League, All-VISAA, and All-Metro citations and was the 2019 Richmond Times-Dispatch Swimmer of the Year.

At N.C. State, he recorded lifetime bests of 46.50 in the 100 backstroke, 1:47.09 in the 200 individual medley, and 3:48.85 in the 400 IM in addition to his last 200 back performance.

Because the NCAA granted winter sports athletes an extra year of eligibility because of COVID, he actually has another season to improve those marks, but he’ll graduate this spring, put his degree in biomedical and health science engineering to work, and leave competitive swimming behind.

“That was the last hurrah,” he said of his weekend at nationals. “It was a privilege to go. There’re no rule that said they had to take me since I wasn’t swimming. Going out as a cheerleader was fun. Happy retirement now.”

One day recently, Cram shared his thoughts, insights, and reflections about his swimming career that began in the Avalon Recreation Center pool and intensified when he joined the NOVA program when he was 10.

Speak about managing the demands on your time and energy as a college athlete.

It was definitely demanding. Swimming’s known for morning and afternoon practices. Sometimes, it was hard to balance school and swimming, but the resources they give us are great. It’s helpful for me to have such a busy schedule. It’s so regimented. I know what I need to do when I need to do it. That forces me to stay on task and will benefit me later in life.

How did you manage the transition to college-level competition?

There was definitely a little adjustment. When you turn 15 at NOVA, you go into a senior group with 18-year-olds, so, I’d been there and knew I had to work my way up. I ended high school in a good spot, proud of what I accomplished, but I hadn’t been some crazy swimmer as a freshman. I tried to follow the same path that I did in high school and use it as a source of motivation and recognize that if I wanted that same result in college, I’d have to work for it.

What were your goals entering your freshman year?

Try to get better every year. One of my big goals was to qualify for NCAAs. Achieving that senior year was awesome. I had a goal of [qualifying for the Atlantic Coast Conference meet], which I did my sophomore year. Getting better every day was what I could control.

What was the toughest part of being a college swimmer?

Recognizing that there’s no off-season. I was pretty much here all summer training and competing in a long-course season even though it’s not affiliated with N.C. State. The season ends in the spring. You have two or three weeks, then you’re back at it full-go all summer. For me, staying motivated in the summer was hard at some points. Some points, it wasn’t. Because you’re not competing for N.C. State, it’s a lot more individual. It’s hard for me to motivate myself without doing it for a team.

You picked a tough major.

When I came to NC State, I declared engineering, but I didn’t declare which discipline. They did a good job freshman year of introducing us to all the ones they offered. I was really excited about biomedical engineering. The field is growing rapidly. Some of what we learned seems like science fiction, almost. It’s really exciting, really interesting. I like merging biology and engineering. The health care field is growing all the time. It’s a good place to be, and obviously making a direct impact on people’s lives, making daily life easier, making people healthier is super important. That’s why I chose it.

You’ve been a competitive swimmer most of your life. How are you quenching your competitive thirst?

I like to stay active. Like with some of my friends who are also recently retired, a lot of my competitive spirit gets taken out in basketball, spikeball, volleyball, sports that we’d probably call a little more fun than [the grind of] swimming.

Speak about your preparation at Collegiate.

I was in a really good place coming out of Collegiate, especially academic-wise. Time management was big. Also, Collegiate taught me how to think and approach a test or a problem. Athletics was a little bit different because with NOVA, I didn’t really have much of an opportunity to practice with Collegiate, but the team aspect of Collegiate swimming definitely prepared me well for college. [At N.C. State] I loved the team and my teammates. It was important to me to enjoy the people I was around. I’ve certainly done that here.

What advice would you give a Collegiate student who wants to compete at the next level?

Work hard. College swimming is the most fun I ever had swimming. If you’re a 7th or 8th grader and enjoy swimming, I promise you you’ll enjoy it even more if you swim in college. I highly recommend it. I had a lot of fun. It was hard, but I don’t regret any of it.

~Weldon Bradshaw

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