Zeke Smith was added to Will Feldman’s coaching staff as an assistant coach for both the cross country and track & field programs in 2019 and begins his second term in 2020-21 working with long-distance runners.  

In his first-year coaching in 2019, Smith saw the Rams put up top team and individual performances. First at GNAC cross country championships, the women claimed second, while the men finished third with both individual champions donning the blue-and-gold in Emily Manfra and Matyas Csiki-Fejer. 

That twosome led Suffolk place at regionals where the pair clinched its spot at NCAAs. Manfra went on to run at her second national championship, while Csiki-Fejer became the first-ever male Ram to do so.  

Indoors, Smith saw the Rams’ men bring home the inaugural GNAC Championship banner, while the women were the conference’s runners up. The blue-and-gold had both GNAC Track Athletes of the Year in Manfra and Csiki-Fejer. The pair both captured two individual conference crowns.  

Following conference competition, Manfra went on to pick up a pair of all-region accolades and repeated as an All-American in the mile despite the NCAA Championships being cancelled due to COVID-19.  

Academic accolades mirrored the athletic accomplishments with both Suffolk’s squads in cross country and track & field garnering USTFCCCA Team Academic honors. Csiki-Fejer and Manfra took home individual nods from the national organization for their work in the classroom as well. That duo also garnered CoSIDA Academic All-American status for their work in the classroom. 

In 2019-20, Smith helped shape Suffolk’s first-ever GNAC Women of the Year honoree, Manfra.  

Feldman gave Smith his first coaching role after a four-year as a long-distance runner at Bates where he competed on the Bobcats’ cross country and indoor and outdoor track & field squads. In 2018, he was recognized with a spot on the NESCAC Fall All-Sportsmanship team.  

Academically, the economics, environmental studies concentrator, who graduated in May 2019, shined. The four-time Dean’s List honoree garnered All-NESCAC Academic nods every season and year he was eligible to take home the nod to pick up nine overall. As a senior in 2018, he was awarded as Bates Senior Scholar Award recipient as well as the Honor Baton, which is awarded for perseverance and contributors to the program.  

On the racing circuit, he was the youngest entrant in the 2015 Boston Marathon and finished the historic 26.2 miles in 3:17.32. Overall, Smith has ran on Patriots Day twice.