November 11, 1992
Originally published by the Daily Collegian (Fresno State)
Bursting onto the cross country scene this year for Fresno State has been junior transfer Dan Zoldak--and that is the great understatement of 1992. Zoldak has gained respect from just about everybody--his opponents, teammates, and coaches--because he has the drive in him that won't let him down. According to head coach Red Estes in midseason, "He has done quality running every time."
Now, with the season winding down and the WAC/NCAA Region 7 Championships coming up, Estes still maintains: Outstanding. He was a good choice for our program. Dan is really a solid runner, and never has a bad performance."
Five-foot-nine, 130 pounds of bouncy, kinetic speed, Zoldak is on the go from the opening gun until he hits the tape. Some Bulldog observers would rank him on the team second only to Jamey Harris, the senior who won the Big West last year and could win the WAC this year.
The two--Harris and Zoldak--are the one-two punch and dynamic duo that gives the Bulldogs the edge in close races. But it's clear that Zoldak is coming into his own. When Harris leaves, it's likely that Zoldak will step into Harris' shoes--and they might be too small.
"Dan made a very easy transition from junior college to Division I NCAA running," Estes said. A lot (of runners) don't preoject themselves immediately. It usually takes a year or so to make the jump and be able to compete. Dan's an exception. He stepped into Division I shoes and never missed a beat."
Zoldak said, "Division I pumped me up. And being on a team that's going for a championship makes it all the more worthwhile.
"The team needs me to be consistent. I usually am."
He has shown that consistency in every Bulldog race this sdeason. In this season's initial meet, the FSU Invitational, he placed second on the Bulldogs to Jamey Harris in 25:28.6 and third collegiately.
That was an impressive start for his first Division I meet. From then on, his strong running came to be known as the "Zoldak Attack." Zoldak continued his strong running by being in the top 10 at the UC Davis Aggie Invitational. He was second collegiately in 31:24.8.
In the Stanford Invitational, he ran a 24:52 meet and finished 30th overall, which was still good enough to finish second behind Harris. Zoldak's showing enabled the 'Dogs to get past UC Berkeley after losing to them twice this year.
He certainly has helped the Bulldogs consistently this year, having finished second among Fresno State runners in the Cal Poly-SLO, Stanford, UC Davis, and FSU Invitationals.
"I was waiting for competition to come along," he said candidly about his running days at West Valley JC in San Jose. "And the competition came along."
"His strengths are at 10K, which is what we'll race in the WAC Championship on Nov. 14. He'll really be in his prime by then, and running his best, which will be an advantage. He has not missed a practice this year. He hasn't had any injury or any other setbacks. He's just had an outstanding year," Estes said.
He went on to add about the Championship, "It's a good bet Dan will be in the thick of it. I see him in the top 10, maybe higher.
"Of course the two things that concern us are the altitude and that we don't know how good the WAC runners might be compared to us.
"It'll be a challenge, and Dan will accept it."
To this, Zoldak responded, "The whole team's going in to get nothing less than championship.
"I think we'll surprise people. I think we're all strong runners, so it'll come down to running ability and not how thin the air is."
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