Zollitsch wins 2 golds at Festival Pendergist places fifth in decathlon

SAN ANTONIO – Orono native Mark Zollitsch won two gold medals, a silver, and a bronze in kayaking events, and Rob Pendergist of Ellsworth finished fifth in the decathlon here at the United States Olympic Festival over the weekend.

Zollitsch won his two golds on the last day of competition Saturday, finishing first in the 500-meter, two-man kayak and first in the 1,000-meter, four-man flatwater sprint races.

His partner in the K2 500 was Stein Jorgensen of San Diego. They finished with a time of one minute, 31.3 seconds.

Zollitsch teamed up with Jorgensen, Patrick Richardson of LaJolla, Calif.; and Bryan Tooley of Eugene, Ore.; to win the K4 with a time of 3:08.05.

Zollitsch, who now resides in Bellingham, Wash., won his silver medal in the K2 1,000 meters and his bronze in the K1 1,000-meter race.

Zollitsch also was fifth in the 500-meter single kayak with a time of 1:42.65.

Pendergist and three other entrants failed to clear a height in the pole vault, and he finished the two-day event with 6,729 points. Winner Matt Zuber of Davis, Calif., parlayed the day’s best pole vault into a winning total of 7,525 points.

“I’m not displeased at all,” Pendergist said of his performance on the sweltering (135 degrees on the track) day. “I haven’t had the chance to pole vault due to tendinitis since the TAC championships in Eugene (Ore.) six weeks ago.

“The pole vault is kind of like your early season golf swing,” he said. “If you don’t practice a lot, you’re just off.”

Pendergist ended the first day of competition in fourth place with 3,956 points. He finished sixth in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.20, scoring 817 points. He clocked 50.52 in the 400 (791 pts.), high jumped 6-7 (813), long jumped 23-5 1/2 (850), and threw the shot 43-7 1/4 (685).

On the second day, Pendergist ran 15.32 for the 110 hurdles (811), threw the discus 128-10 (650), reached 186-6 in the javelin (691) and ran the 1,500 in 4:49.59 (621).

While Pendergist described his performances in the other events as “good, consistent marks,” he said the pole vault is the event that keeps giving him trouble.

“If you don’t get it down precisely, it ends up haunting you,” he said. “It involves speed and strength, and by that point in the second day, your speed is gone.”

Pendergist said Sunday that arriving in Maine was a relief after competing in an endurance event in the Texas heat.

“I would go back (to the Olympic Festival) if it was anywhere other than San Antonio, Texas,” he said. “(The heat’s) not even anything that’s comical. It makes you delirious. I drank 40 cups of water the first day.”