The Lancer Way: Roman Zozulia
7/29/2022
The Lancer Way is a platform provided by California Baptist University's Athletic Department that allows student-athletes to share their stories. All of the words are their own.
Written By: Roman Zozulia, Cross Country/Track, Sr., Kiev, Ukraine
Running is not about how much money you have or your status in this life. It is about a strong desire and passion to get better and better every day. It does not matter who you are and where you were born. As long as you have that passion to move forward step by step you will be able to succeed. You get out of it what you put into it.
I was born and raised in Ukraine. I remember running in winter when the temperature is -20 degrees Celsius (-4 degrees Fahrenheit). I could barely see my feet because snow is everywhere. I am trying to breathe through my nose because I can get sick quickly using my mouth. My fingers are freezing even though I am using gloves and my mind is set on just one goal – get better than I was yesterday without knowing what God’s plan is.
Eventually, by competing in Europe and showing a good result, I was recruited by CBU in 2019. After 20-plus hours by plane and some layovers, here I am at California Baptist University. To be honest, I would not say that everything was easy.
It took me some time to get used to some aspects, such as language, culture, people, etc. So far I have had a lot of seasons, and different races in different states, but one of the most important seasons that I would like to highlight is 2022 track.
To be honest, that was the hardest time in my life because of the war in Ukraine. Knowing that your family and friends can be killed or something bad can happen to them at any time was making me crazy. That time I was empty deep inside. I had no clue what to do. That’s when I realized that I am a face of my country, and I have to represent my country the best I can by putting 100 percent of effort into practice and in races. There are no excuses for me.
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— CBU XC & Track (@CBUXCTF) May 13, 2022
CBU produced 5?? all-conference/top-six finishers in the men’s 10K:
#??2?? Matias Reynaga (31:02.24)
#??3?? Roman Zozulia (31:04.61)
#??4?? Arturs Medveds (31:08.66)
#??6?? Luis Chavez (31:11.77)#LanceUp?? pic.twitter.com/cNZRl7h4D2
As all of the Ukrainians that are fighting for freedom and protecting the country against the aggressor, I will do what I can do best, which is to run as fast as I can, no matter what it takes. As a result, I ran in six meets during the season, earned All-WAC First Team honors with a third-place finish in the 10,000 meters, clocked a top-10 time in CBU history in the 10K, recorded a personal-best 14:22.89 in the 5K and qualified for WAC All-Academic honors. Even though it has been more than 150 days since the war started, I know that each of my races will be for Ukrainians and I will not let them down!
Moreover, I would like to say thanks to CBU for helping me go through the worst time in my life, especially some people who have been helping me and caring about me and the situation back home. The war is horrible; I cannot even find the right words to describe it. That is why knowing that even though I’m so far from home, I still have some support here at CBU, helps me move forward.
Day by day, I clearly could feel I have grown spiritually and at the same time physically. California Baptist University gave me a lot of opportunities to improve myself and live my purpose.
I am getting faster and faster season by season by training with a perfect team, working with professional and at the same time responsible coaches, such as Adam Tribble, Abigail Stanley, and Jordan Pingel. By doing appropriate mileages and following the coaches’ plans, I’ve been doing my personal bests each season. Even now, we are working hard and have a lot of goals for the future.
Frankly, I do not regret at all that when I decided to come to CBU. Yeah, that was a long journey, without knowing what is going to happen to me. I left everything back home, family, friends, and school, but I got back 10 times more here at California Baptist University! So, yeah… CBU means a lot to me and I am so glad that I have this opportunity of being on a cross-country team and representing this university at any competition!
