Zachary Graeber is going the distance — literally.
As a student athlete at the University of California, Davis, competing in cross country and distance events in track and field, Graeber has logged more than 10,000 miles in his first six seasons, with plans to cover much more ground.
In his academic life, Graeber is pursuing his Master of Science degree in computer science, after completing his undergraduate degree in computer science at UC Davis in only two years.
As he embarks on his first foray into research and the start of the cross country season, Graeber is gearing up to tackle new challenges and bring his best to the track and the lab.
Finding His Stride
In high school, Graeber was “more of a track guy,” running medium-distance races like the 1600- and 3200-meter races. Since running in college, he has improved his distance-running skills and become a true competitor in cross country.
At UC Davis, Graeber competes in the 1500-meter and 5-kilometer races for track and the 8-kilometer and 10-kilometer races for cross country. Since high school, he has increased his pace significantly, going from running a 5-kilometer race at a 5:09 minute per mile pace and now runs an 8-kilometer race at a 5:03 minute per mile pace.
“Transitioning to the 8K and 10K was difficult because it was much longer than I had competitively raced before. It requires much more endurance than I had as a high schooler,” said Graeber. “To improve my distance skills, I began increasing my mileage and doing longer workouts.”
While pursuing his undergraduate degree, Graeber had to figure out how to balance classes and practice, which proved to be difficult, especially since he trains year-round. For instance, to gear up for the coming season, which kicks off Aug. 29, Graeber and the rest of the UC Davis cross country team spent a month this summer training for high-altitude courses in Big Bear.
“Even during the off-season, we still have to be really focused on our sport,” said Graeber. “We have to spend time at practice, but we also have to be more conscious than the average person about going to bed earlier so we can get fully rested, let our bodies recover. I have to be aware of my time.”
Now, the looser structure of graduate school allows a little more leniency in his schedule.
“This year, I’m going to take one more class, and from there I’ll be focused on my own research,” said Graeber. “I just really like how this program gives me so much flexibility to explore what I’m truly interested in.”
Running Toward New Algorithms
Graeber will begin research in dynamic size counting, designing a new algorithm that could make counting more efficient and reliable. (Mario Rodriguez/UC Davis)
With the help of dual enrollment, a 20-unit course load, summer classes and college units from high school, Graeber was able to complete his undergraduate degree in two years. Yet, he didn’t feel finished.
“After two years, I didn’t feel ready to go out and get a job. There’s still more to the college experience. There’s still more to learn,” said Graeber.
Graeber has joined the lab of Associate Professor of Computer Science David Doty, whose research focuses on molecular self-assembly and computing. In the lab, Graeber will focus on dynamic size counting and work on developing algorithms that are more efficient than those currently available.
Dynamic size counting is about figuring out how many different “minicomputers,” or agents, there are. These agents are computing entities (like robots, sensors or software processes) that work together to enable fair resource sharing, efficient communication, reliable coordination and adaptability in networks where agents are simple. Without dynamic size counting, systems can fail or waste resources.
The challenge is that there is no central computer and the environment is ever-changing, so the minicomputers must work together and “talk” to each other to find a number. Ant colonies interact similarly to these agents. Ants will keep track of one another and use those encounters to estimate colony size, which informs whether they should stay and forage or move their colony.
Graeber’s goal is to design an algorithm that makes this kind of counting more efficient and reliable than current methods.
“It is interesting because usually you have one computer that does everything,” said Graeber. “Here you have a bunch of different computers, so it’s kind of like a fun puzzle. It’s one of the newer and more unique concepts out there.”
Pushing Past Limits
Graeber feels positive about embarking on research. One thing that racing has taught him is that it probably isn’t always going to be perfect, but if you don’t try to test your limits, then you don’t grow. Staying in one lane gets you nowhere.
“I’m not afraid of failure, I’d rather take a class I’m more interested in, even if it may be a little out of my comfort zone and even if my grade isn’t that good,” said Graeber. “It’s like in cross-country or track, you have bad races. But at the end of the day, if you always stay in your comfort zone, you’re not going to improve.”
Women’s Track & Field Rookie of the Week – Lola Gitlin
Lola Gitlin won the 3,000-meter race by more than 12 seconds at Cornell’s Southern Tier Invitational as she clocked a time of 10:37.55. Gitlin’s time is good for 24th nationally.
Women’s Track & Field – Field Performer of the Week – Lily Seyfert
Lily Seyfert placed third in the shot put at the Cornell Southern Tier Invitational with a mark of 12.72 meters, which is just shy of her top mark of 12.78 this season (17th in Division III). Seyfert also finished third in the weight throw at 16.20 meters and ranks eighth in the country after that performance.
Men’s Track & Field Rookie of the Week – Raphael Campanile
Raphael Campanile placed fifth in the pole vault with a mark of 4.50 meters at the Cornell Southern Tier Invitational on Saturday and currently ranks 25th in Division III with that performance.
HONOR ROLL
Matthew Zenker totaled 44 points on 18-of-31 shooting, to go along with nine rebounds and three steals in a 1-1 week for Ithaca. Zenker netted 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting in a 101-72 win over RIT and followed up with 24 points and eight rebounds as he shot 10-of-15 from the floor in a loss to Union.
Junior forward McNamara delivered a pair of strong performances despite setbacks against RIT and Union. Against the Tigers, she was flawless from the floor, going 3-for-3 while adding seven rebounds and two blocks. She carried that momentum into the Union matchup, coming just shy of her first career double-double with nine points and eight boards.
Shenandoah University men’s volleyball freshman Simon Bellenbaum was named the ODAC’s Defensive Player of the Week on Monday.
The York, Pennsylvania, native accumulated six solo blocks and eight digs in SU’s two matches against Randolph and Regent, with three blocks in each game and five digs versus the Royals.
Boys’ basketball: Sherando 48, Strasburg 44
STEPHENS CITY — Sherando defeated Strasburg for its fourth straight win on Monday. The Warriors are 9-4.
Girls’ basketball: Strasburg 39, Sherando 29
STRASBURG — Strasburg completed a season sweep with a win over Sherando on Monday.
The Warriors (3-11) trailed 18-7 after one quarter, 23-10 at the half and 29-22 after three quarters.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Two Keene State College student-athletes honored by the Little East Conference for their achievements accomplished for the week of January 5-11.
Men’s Swimming and Diving
Freshman diver Keegan Johnson (Durham, N.H.) was named the LEC Diver of the Week and the Rookie Diver of the Week from his dives across the Owls’ final two home meets this season over the past weekend. Against Eastern Connecticut State University, Johnson placed first in the 1M diving with a score of 129.75 on Friday afternoon, and on Saturday morning against Norwich University, he placed first in the 1M diving with a score of 141.38 and first in the 3M diving with a score of 170.31.
Johnson and the Owls return to action for a double-dual meet against Brandeis University and Bridgewater State University on Saturday, January 17 at 12:00 PM.
Men’s Indoor Track and Field
Senior Eden Damis (Nashua, N.H.) was named the LEC Field Athlete of the Week from his performance at the Middlebury Snowflake Invitational on Saturday for the Owls. In the long jump, Damis posted a mark of 14.00 in the triple just for a new personal record in his final attempt of the day. His mark became the 21st best mark in NCAA Division III on the season, just one position for qualifying for nationals later this season.
Damis and the Owls return to action at the Panther Invitational I at Plymouth State University on Saturday, January 17, at 10:00 AM.
PITMAN — The New Jersey Athletic Conference announced its women’s indoor track & field weekly honors for the week ending Jan. 11
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
LUCIA GARCIA-BELTRAN • The College of New Jersey
Senior • Hopewell, NJ/Hopewell Valley Central
Garcia-Beltran earned NJAC Track Athlete of the Week honors after setting a new program record in the 60 meters at the Lions Indoor Invitational. The senior sprinter and Rutgers transfer clocked a time of 7.63 seconds, which ranks fifth in NCAA Division III.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
SARAH SCEPKOWSKI • The College of New Jersey
Senior • Garwood, NJ/Arthur L. Johnson
Scepkowski claimed NJAC Field Athlete of the Week recognition after clearing 1.60 meters in the high jump at the Lions Indoor Invitational. The senior’s mark ranks 20th in NCAA Division III and stands as one of the top performances in the conference this season.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
AMELIA VITALE • Farmingdale State College
Freshman • Hauppauge, NY/Hauppauge
Vitale was named NJAC Rookie of the Week after posting a time of 2:30.87 in the 800 meters at the Spartan Invitational. The freshman’s performance represents the top mark in the event thus far in the NJAC this season and establishes her as the conference’s early leader in the middle-distance event.
PITMAN — The New Jersey Athletic Conference announced its men’s indoor track & field weekly honors for the week ending Jan. 11.
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
MAXIM RYCHKOV • The College of New Jersey
Sophomore • Robbinsville, NJ/Robbinsville
Rychkov earned NJAC Track Athlete of the Week honors after setting a new program record in the 400 meters at the Lions Indoor Invitational. The sophomore clocked a time of 47.95 seconds, which ranks sixth in Division III. Rychkov’s record-breaking performance also leads both the NJAC and NCAA Metro Region in the event.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
BRADEN PAULMENN • The College of New Jersey
Sophomore • Monmouth Junction, NJ/South Brunswick
Paulmenn claimed NJAC Field Athlete of the Week recognition after a strong showing in two throwing events at the Lions Indoor Invitational. The sophomore recorded a mark of 15.38 meters in the shot put (third place) and 13.98 meters in the weight throw (fourth place). His weight throw mark ranks third in the NJAC and 10th in the Metro Region. Paulmenn also owns the second-best shot put mark in the NJAC and NCAA Metro Region and is 26th in Division III.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
VICTOR AKINBOBOYE • The College of New Jersey
Freshman • Jackson, NJ/Jackson Liberty
Akinboboye was named NJAC Rookie of the Week after clocking a time of 35.54 seconds in the 300 meters at the Lions Indoor Invitational. The freshman’s performance ranks 18th in Division III and establishes him as one of the top first-year sprinters in the conference.
Oldani had a match-high and career-high 10 digs in BYU’s season opener Friday night in Provo. He added another three digs on Saturday. Oldani also had five blocks over the two matches, as the Cougars started the season 2-0 for the fourth consecutive season.
Oldani is one of three transfers from Grand Canyon on this season’s BYU squad. He was a key contributor as a freshman last season for the Antelopes and has picked up where he left off with the Cougars.
Oldani and the No. 8 Cougars won in back-to-back sweeps last weekend over Saint Francis and have two more home matches this Friday and Saturday, as No. 10 UC San Diego visits the Smith Fieldhouse.
