Bio

Began: 2012 | Season: 2023-24 is his 12th season as cycling head coach and is his 4th season as triathlon head coach

 Zack Nave serves as the head cycling coach and head triathlon coach at Milligan. Nave has a Level 3 Coaching Certification through USA Cycling and over 10 years of race experience. During his decade-plus at the helm of the Milligan cycling program, the Buffs have won 14 USA Cycling Collegiate national titles and four team national championships.

Milligan won four national titles at the 2023 USA Cycling Collegiate Road National Championships. Megan Jastrab repeated as the national champion in the road race, criterium and overall omnium. She concluded her illustrious career as Milligan’s all-time leader in national championships (10). Trevor August, Ethan Craine, Adin Papell and Artem Shmidt captured the men’s team time trial national championship. Milligan finished second overall in the team standings, the highest finish in the varsity division in school history.

The 2021-22 cycling season saw Milligan capture five national titles and 20 podium finishes at USA Collegiate Cycling National Championships. At the 2022 USA Cycling Road National Championships, Megan Jastrab became Milligan’s all-time leader in national titles. She claimed national titles in the road race, criterium and overall omnium, in addition to riding on Milligan’s national championship women’s team time trial alongside Madeline Bemis, Marjie Bemis and Madelline Mendoza. Ama Nsek became Milligan’s first-ever men’s road cycling national champion as he won the criterium national title on the men’s side. As a team, Milligan finished third overall at the Road Championships and fourth at the Track Championships in 2021-22.

Prior to the season, Jastrab became the first current student-athlete to compete in the Olympics and win a medal as she earned a bronze medal in the women’s cycling team pursuit for team USA in Tokyo.

Nave's team captured Milligan's first team national championship in 2014-15 when the Buffs took home the USA Cycling Road Racing National Championship in the spring. Lauretta Hanson also took the individual championship in the women's omnium, with Nolan Tankersley taking runner-up in the men's omnium.

In the same season, the Buffs added national runner-up finishes in both cyclocross and track, a top-15 finish in mountain biking, and three conference championships.

Since winning Milligan's first team national title in spring 2015, Nave's Buffs have added four more national titles, winning the USA Cycling Track National Championship in the fall of 2015 before successfully defending their Road Race National Championship in the spring of 2016 and spring of 2017. The team also has added four more individual national titles. Morgan Miller, Zoe Mullins, Stephanie Nave and Hannah Swan won the 2016 road race team time trial, Madeline Bemis won the 2018 mountain bike women's omnium, Jastrab won the 2019 individual pursuit and the team of Jastrab, Manuela Escobar and Gracie Pendleton won the 2019 track team pursuit.