Bridgeport's Troy Zorick Headed to Davis and Elkins for Cross Country
By Michael Minnich on February 28, 2026
BRIDGEPORT – After fighting back from injuries that cost him the better part of a year, Bridgeport’s Troy Zorick relished Thursday, when he signed his letter-of-intent to run cross country and track & field distance events at Davis & Elkins starting this fall.
“That's crazy to me because I worked so hard after I got hurt and that scholarship and that story that I was able to create just sealed the deal for me,” Zorick said. "It was a culmination of everything I'd been working for and that was my gift.”
But the academic side already had Zorick hooked.
“I chose the Senators because of their prestigious nursing program and the scholarship that I won. I definitely was not going to turn that down,” Zorick said. “Their NCLEX scores were very high. And I enjoy giving back to my community and helping my fellow man.
“When I was hurt and I dealt with injuries, I was around doctors and nurses and physical therapists who nursed me back to help. And I just want to do the same thing for other people because I really enjoy doing that.”
Zorick says the team he’s joining will be elite.
“I think coach (Jason) Pyles has put together The Avengers,” Zorick said. “They crushed MECs and that's just a team I want to be a part of. We're going to be pretty solid coming into 2026.”
Zorick comes off a strong senior cross country season.
At the Class AAA state meet, the first year cross country had four classes instead of three, he finished fourth in a time of 16:42.47, the best finish by a senior in the meet.
As a team, Bridgeport tied Grafton for state runner-up with 87 points.
“It was great. The reclassification helped,” Zorick said. “You’ve got a mix of goofballs and guys that were taking it really seriously. When you mix that together, you have a really fun team.”
Injuries limited Zorick’s 2024 as he did not qualify for the state track or cross country meet after eight months of physical therapy and rehab.
“I came back around cross country regionals and I ran my entire track season and I still wasn't right” Zorick said. “But it was around Big Ten this past fall where I really came back and I really got out of my shell and I started performing again, getting second place.
“That really sparked a new drive within me to compete that I thought I didn't have after I'd gotten hurt. I had a chance to fight back and I had a chance to come back and to persevere, a challenge that most people say they couldn't come back from.”
He did place 13th in the 3200 meter run individually and 10th as part of the Tribe’s 4x800 meter relay in Class AAA in a three-class system to cap his junior year.
Zorick finished 10th in the Class AAA state cross country meet as a sophomore and he was the highest placer that qualified as an individual, not with a team.
As a freshman at the state track meet, he was eighth in the Class AAA 3200 meter run and was part of Bridgeport’s 4x800 relay that qualified.
He’s got one more track & field season to add to his legacy at Bridgeport.
“My goals for this spring are to take down a couple of track records before I leave and maybe win a state title,” Zorick said.
Lessons learned at Bridgeport will serve him well at D&E.
“I want to take my discipline, my grit, and my perseverance with me,” Zorick said. “I can't ask for much more than those three things.”
Editor's note: Action photo by Joe LaRocca.
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