Diego Alejandro Zarate Season 2020

2021 Outdoor: Earned first team All-American honors with a seventh place finish in the 1,500m at the NCAA Championships with a time of 3:40.12 ... Broke the Virginia Tech 1,500m school record in the quarterfinals of the event with a time of 3:38.85 at the NCAA Championships ... Qualified for the NCAA Championships with a 1,500m time of 3:39.88 at the NCAA East Prelims ... Took home the bronze medal in the 1,500m with a time of 3:42.23 at the ACC Championships ... Won the Liberty Twilight Qualifier with a school record 1,500m of 3:39.03 ... Ran a season's best 800m of 1:49.24 to finish third and took second in the 1,500m with a time of 3:42.42 at the Virginia Challenge.

2021 Indoor: Did not compete.

2020 Indoor: Placed fourth in the mile with a time of 4:02,87 at the ACC Championships …  Finished second with a personal best time of 7:58.83 in the 3,000 meters at the Iowa State Classic … Placed sixth in the mile with a time of 4:01.09 at the Camel City Invitational … Finished second and posted a personal best time of 2:22.92 in the 1,000 meters at the Hokie Invitational … Won the 3,000 meters at the Virginia Tech Invitational, finishing with a time of 8:14.97.

2019 Outdoor: Did not compete.

2019 Indoor: Won the bronze medal in the mile race at the ACC Indoor Championships with a time of 4:03.54 … Also ran the 3,000 at the league meet and finished the distance in a time of 8:35.10 … Came in fifth in the mile at the Iowa State Classic with a personal-best time of 4:00.44 … Finished second in the elite mile race at the Camel City Invitational with a time of 4:03.37 … Came in third in the 1,000 at the Hokie Invitational with a time of 2:26.48.

2018 Outdoor: Earned second-team All-America honors after his 10th-place finish in the 1,500 at the NCAA Outdoor Championships … Ran the race in a time of 3:46.55 … Punched his ticket to Eugene in the 1,500 meters with a time of 3:43.94 at the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds ... Collected a silver medal in the 1,500-meter race at the ACC Outdoor Championships with a time of 3:46.52, earning first-team All-ACC honors ... Also ran in the 5,000 meters at ACCs, finishing with a time of 14:45.42 ... Placed second in the 1,500 meters with a time of 3:43.95 at the National Relay Championships … Also ran the second leg of the 4x800-meter relay team (7:25.97) that finished first at the National Relay Championships … Collected a time of 1:48.81 in the 800 meters to place eighth and ran the anchor leg of the 4x400-meter relay team (3:19.31) at the Duke Invitational … Clocked a time of 3:45.85 in the 1,500 meters to finish third and was part of the distance medley relay team (9:56.59) that placed first at the Tennessee Relays … Ran a time of 14:32.69 in the 5,000 meters at the Raleigh Relays.

2018 Indoor: Earned a silver medal in the mile with a time of 4:04.18 and recorded a time of 8:33.29 in the 3,000 meters at the ACC Indoor Championships, earning first-team All-ACC honors … Ran on the distance medley relay team that placed third with a time of 9:57.38 at the Roanoke Tune-Up … Finished eighth in the 800 meters with a time of 1:51.96 and ran the second leg of the 4x400-meter relay team (3:17.97) that placed 11th at the Music City Challenge … Placed ninth at the Camel City Invitational with a 4:03.55 mile … Tallied a time of 2:26.68 to place ninth in the 1,000 meters at the Liberty Kickoff … Clocked in a time of 8:18.05 in the 3,000 meters to finish fourth at the Keydet Invitational.

2017 Outdoor: Advanced to the quarterfinals in the 1,500-meter run at the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds, placing 19th ... Won a bronze medal in the 1,500 at the ACC Championships, crossing the line 3 minutes, 46.95 seconds ... Was awarded first-team All-ACC honors for his efforts ... Also competed in the 5,000 at the league championships, placing 17th ... Participated in the Men's 4xMile Championship of America Invitational at the Penn Relays, earning a fourth-place finish with a school-record time of 16:28.70 ... Competed in the 1,500 on three different occassions during the regular season ... Ran a career best in the 5,000 at the Virginia Challenge, finishing in 14:08.57 ... Also was a member of the winning distance medley relay team at the Tennessee Relays, crossing the line in 9 minutes, 46.15 seconds.

2017 Indoor: Earned a bronze medal in the mile at the ACC Championships, crossing the finish line with a personal-best time of 4:02.72 – good enough for seventh on Tech’s all-time list … Was a first-team all-conference selection … Placed fourth in the 1,000 meters at the Virginia Tech Challenge with a lifetime-best time of 2:23.16 – the seventh-falsest time in the event in school history … Raced to a 12th-place finish in the 800 with a personal-best time of 1:51.45 at the Music City Challenge ... Also collected a fourth-place finish as a member of the distance medley relay team at the Music City Challenge, finishing in a time of 9:44.93 ... Won the mile at the Doc Hale VT Elite Meet, finishing in 4:08.35.

2016 Outdoor: Won the gold medal in the 1,500 at the USA Junior Outdoor Championships with a time of 3:47.53 … Finished eighth in the 1,500 at the ACC Championships, running the event in a personal-best time of 3:45.37 … Claimed second in the 1,500 at the Hokie Twilight Qualifier with a time of 3:50.90 … Took third in his section of the 1,500 at the Payton Jordan Invitational with a time of 3:47.76 … Came in fourth in the 5,000 at the Bison Outdoor Classic, running the event in a time of 14:18.69.

2016 Indoor: Redshirted.

High school: Earned four letters in cross country and was the Gatorade Runner of the Year in Maryland as a senior … Was the Class 4A West Regional champion as a senior with a time of 15:26 and finished third at the state meet … Won 10-of-11 cross country meets as a senior … Was the state champion in the 800- and 1,600-meter races at the 2015 Maryland 4A State Indoor Meet ... Was the state champion in the 1,600 at the 2015 Maryland 4A State Outdoor Meet … Placed third in the mile at the Penn High School Relays ... Finished third at the 2014 Maryland 4A State Cross Country Meet, first in the 1,600 at the state indoor and outdoor track meets and third in the 3,200 at the state indoor and outdoor track meets ... Holds personal bests of 1:52.07 in the 800, 4:09 in the mile, 9:18 in the 3,200 and 15:26 in the 5,000 meters for cross country.

Personal: Born Sept. 3, 1997 … Son of Carlos and Silvina Zarate … Has two siblings … Majoring in criminology.

Zarate's Track and Field Career Bests

IndoorOutdoor

800m – 1:51.45, Music City Challenge (2017)
1,000m – 2:23.16, Hokie Invitational (2020)
Mile – 4:00.44, Iowa State Classic (2019)
3,000m – 7:58.83, Iowa State Classic (2020)

800m – 3:38.85, NCAA Championships (2021)
1,500m – 3:43.38, ACC Championships, (2018)
5,000m – 13:57.87, Raleigh Relays (2021)