Zach Muñoz, from La Mirada, Calif., has been with the Azusa Pacific track & field program for the past three years. Muñoz began his collegiate career at Division I Cal State Fullerton, where he spent the 2015-16 year with the Titans before transferring to Cerritos College for a year. He arrived at Azusa Pacific in the fall of 2017, and since then, he has developed a reputation for being a strong competitor in a variety of events.
Over his career with the Cougars, Muñoz has competed in 15 different events, including the decathlon and heptathlon, where he has been able to showcase his diverse skillset and athleticism. At the 2018 PacWest Track & Field Championships, Muñoz claimed the conference title in the decathlon by scoring 6,398 points over the 10 events. Of those 10 events, he took first in four of them. Not only did Muñoz become the PacWest Champion in the decathlon, but he also scored a total of 22.5 points for the Cougars as they claimed their third consecutive men's team title. Muñoz scored 10 points with his first place finish in the decathlon, eight points in the javelin with a second place finish, 2.5 points in the high jump as he finished sixth, and two more points in the discus by way of a seventh-place finish. Muñoz was no stranger to competing in multiple events in the same weekend, as he did it on 11 occasions during his career at Azusa Pacific. A few weeks later, Muñoz had his personal-best performance in the decathlon when he scored 6,748 points at the Azusa Pacific Twilight & Multi meet.
Muñoz competed in the heptathlon seven times with the Cougars. He scored a career-high point total of 4,825 at the 2018 Mines Alumni Classic & Multi, which also ranks him 12th all-time in the Azusa Pacific history books in the heptathlon.
This year, Muñoz competed in two indoor meets, while also starting his final outdoor season in impressive fashion at two meets. To kick-off the outdoor season, Muñoz was at the Rossi Relays where he had a career-day in the javelin. In the event, Muñoz threw a personal-best distance of 57.87 meters (189' 10"), as he finished second among a field of 28 competitors. At the Beach Opener a couple of weeks later, Muñoz competed in the pole vault. In the event, he cleared a height of 4.08 meters (13' 4 ½"), which was ¾" off of his personal-best vault of 13' 5 1/4" that he set back in 2018. Muñoz' coaches and teammates were excited to see him compete in 2020, and he was expected to play a key role for the Cougars at the 2020 PacWest Track & Field Championships, where the Cougars were seeking to claim their fifth-consecutive PacWest men's title.
Coach Jack Hoyt on Zach: "Zach loved competition and preferred to stay busy at meets with five to seven different events going on in one afternoon. He was one of our team's highest point scorers at conference, and we were eager to see what he would do this year."
Munoz' Career-Best Times/Marks
60 Meters
Indoor – 7.29 (2018 Mines Alumni Classic & Multi)
100 Meters
Outdoor – 11.50 (2018 UCR Spring Break Classic)
400 Meters
Outdoor – 51.43 (2018 Azusa Pacific Twilight & Multi)
1000 Meters
Indoor – 2:50.79 (2019 Colorado Invitational)
1500 Meters
Indoor – 4:39.34 (2018 Azusa Pacific Twilight & Multi)
60 Meter Hurdles
Indoor – 8.79 (2019 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Invitational)
110 Meter Hurdles
Outdoor – 15.57 (2018 Azusa Pacific Twilight & Multi)
High Jump
Indoor – 1.85m/6' ¾" (2018 Mines Alumni Classic & Multi)
Outdoor – 1.79m/5' 10 ½" (2018 Azusa Pacific Twilight & Multi)
Pole Vault
Indoor – 4.10m/13' 5 ¼" (2018 Mines Alumni Classic & Multi)
Outdoor – 4.10m/13' 5 ¼" (2018 PacWest Track & Field Championships)
Long Jump
Indoor – 6.37m/20' 10 ¾" (2018 Colorado Running Company UCCS Invite)
Outdoor – 6.50m/21' 4" (2018 Azusa Pacific Twilight & Multi)
Shot Put
Indoor – 11.91m/39' 1" (2019 GAC Championship/All-Comers)
Outdoor – 11.62m/38' 1 ½" (2018 Azusa Pacific Twilight & Multi)
Discus Throw
Outdoor – 37.94m/124' 6" (2018 Azusa Pacific Twilight & Multi)
Long Jump
Indoor – 6.37m/20' 10 ¾" (2018 Colorado Running Company UCCS Invite)
Outdoor – 6.50m/21' 4" (2018 Azusa Pacific Twilight & Multi)
Javelin
Outdoor – 57.87m/189' 10" (2020 Ross Relays)
Heptathlon
Indoor – 4,825 (2018 Mines Alumni Classic & Multi)
Decathlon
Outdoor – 6,748 (2018 Azusa Pacific Twilight & Multi)
