MOSCOW, Idaho – The regular season comes to a close this weekend for Idaho track and field, with a quick trip up to Spokane for the Spokane Memorial Series. The Big sky Outdoor Track and Field Championships take place next week in Missoula.
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"When I got here, I think it was within the first week that I was here, with the close friends that I made, I said to them 'I can't imagine myself anywhere else right now.'
"And I feel the exact same way right now."
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Growing up in a big city,
Zachary Nunis was looking for a different environment to train in during his college years. Fortunately for the Vandals, he chose Moscow.
"I came here to be able to study and train at the same time and not be too distracted. Being able to get up in the morning, train, go to school and then do my homework and do whatever I want in the afternoon is really good. Just to have it all cohesively go together, which I don't think I would've had back home. It's awesome having everything right here for me."
There are a plethora of differences to talk about. An indoor facility is new to Nunis, who grew up with "sun for 10 months of the year." The freedom of making all of his own decisions has also been a major plus.
Oh, and it's a different country.
"I'm from Australia. Melbourne, which is down Southeast. I live around an hour from the coast. It's a lot different than here."
That difference brings a number of other challenges. With his family on the other side of the globe, staying in touch is hard.
"Around my birthday was really rough. It was my first time away from my family for my birthday and I'm really close with my family. My older sister has a husband and two little boys, so I'm an uncle. To be away from them for so long is really tough. As well as my Nana is pretty sick, has been sick my whole life, so to be away from her for so long is a big struggle just because I miss her a lot. And obviously my parents."
That's where the Vandal family stepped in.
"The first person I met, I was getting books at the Vandal Store, was Kaizer (Gillispie). And he's like 6'6, got a really deep voice, really 'American,' and I was this little, skinny, Australian kid. And he comes up and just says hey.
"All of the upper classmen are really inviting and really just friendly. At the start, I was a bit intimidated, but after talking with them I've realized they're all just people and they want what's best for us and them. The culture in this team, and the environment and training and competition especially, it's just really supportive and I love it a lot."
The family vibe extends outside of competition as well.
"To have all of my friends here live within a five minute walk is really awesome. One of my best friends is my roommate, my other best friend is just down the hallway and my girlfriend lives like two minutes away. So it's really great to be able to hang out with them all the time."
Even still, there's always a chance for some homesick feelings. At the Big Sky Indoor Championships in Bozeman, Nunis found another way to stay connected.
"At conference I was really sad, like the day before. My mom and dad are normally at the big meets, and that was the first time they weren't going to be there. But they said the night before that they would be watching from the live stream, I think they woke up at like 4 a.m. to be able to watch it. So when I got on the runway for my first jump, there was a camera on me and I saw me on the big screen and I knew my parents were watching, so I smiled.
"I'm in America, jumping with some of the best people in the nation, best people in the world, and I'm just this skinny kid who's going to try and jump really far.
"And I jumped really far."
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