Idaho State Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Hillary Merkley has announced the hiring of Zach Kughn to lead the Bengal cross-country and distance teams.
“I am really excited to have Zach join our Track and Field Cross Country Program,” remarked Merkley. “It's an exciting time to be a Bengal! Zach brings a lot of knowledge to our staff and team. He knows how to build and develop a program. He is not afraid of work. He's ready to get to work and our Bengals are excited to have his expertise and direction”
Zach Kughn comes to Pocatello having most recently served as an Assistant Coach at
Tiffin University. He helped coach the men’s distance runners to the most points in the
GMAC conference as well as a national champion in the women’s 800m. Dragons set
school records in the men’s 1500m and steeplechase as well as the women’s 800m,
1500m, and steeplechase.
Before Tiffin, Kughn started the Cross Country and Track & Field programs from
scratch at Montana Tech. The Orediggers won three conference championships in
Track & Field and amassed 20 All-American awards. Kughn coached Becca Richtman
to four national championships in four different events as well as the National Track
Athlete of the Year award. He was named Frontier Conference Coach of the Year three
times. He also served as a Women’s Cross Country National Rater as well as a
member of the NAIA Standards Committee.
“I’m super excited to have this opportunity at Idaho State.” Said Kuhgn. “Having competed in the Big Sky, I love the conference and I believe in what we can do here at ISU. I want to thank Coach Hillary Merkley for believing in me and giving me this opportunity. I can’t wait to work with her and see what we can do not only in Cross Country but in Track & Field as well. With the talent we have on the roster and the beautiful campus and environment that Pocatello provides for a distance runner, I think this is a top-tier spot to build a distance program.”
Prior, Kughn was previously the Head Cross Country Coach at Winona State
where he coached national qualifiers in the Mile and DMR.
Kughn earned his Master’s degree while coaching at Dakota Wesleyan. He
coached the first cross-country conference champion in school history.
Kughn was a four-year letterman for Montana State running cross country and track for
the Bobcats and was a consistent Big Sky Conference Championships qualifier
including winning a Big Sky Conference Championship as part of the Distance Medley
Relay.
He earned his degree in 2016 in Health and Human Performance with a minor in
Coaching.
Kughn ran prep at Grand Blanc High School in Michigan for coach Mike Scannell, now
the coach of Olympian Grant Fisher.
Kughn and the Bengals hit the ground running this fall capped with Idaho State hosting the 2024 Big Sky Cross Country Championships at Riverside Golf Course on Nov. 1.
