Zak swam varsity all four years at Buchholz high school as well as being a captain both his junior and senior year. He made it to the State Meet as a freshman (200 IM), sophomore (200 IM), and senior (200 IM/100 Breast). Along with these achievements, Zak was the recipient of several honors and awards. As a freshman, Zak was named Outstanding Rookie, Scholar Athlete, and made the Area All-Star Team. As a sophomore, he was named MVP, as a senior he was also MVP, Scholar Athlete of the Week TV 20, on the Area All-Star Team, and a NISCA Academic All-American. Along with all of these honors, Zak was USA Swimming Academic All-American all four years in high school. At Dartmouth, Zak plans to study Engineering.

Zachary is the son of Michael and Rita and he has one sister. Zak's father, Michael was a member of the University of Notre Dame's Ski Team.