Hall of Fame
One of the most accomplished student-athletes in school history, Aaron Dinzeo was an elite distance runner at California from 2010-15. He earned NCAA All-America status seven times over his cross country and track & field career, plus garnered All-PSAC laurels a combined 10 times. Dinzeo also was highly decorated for his performance in the classroom, as he became the school's first-ever Academic All-American of the Year and was voted the PSAC Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2015.
As a freshman, Dinzeo registered a top-10 finish at PSAC Championships and posted a top-20 performance at the NCAA Regional Championships. He then placed sixth overall at the league meet the following fall and finished in fourth place at the regional event to qualify for the NCAA National Championships in Washington. Dinzeo placed 20th overall at the national meet as a sophomore before receiving All-PSAC laurels in the 5,000-meter run during the indoor season. Originally from Monroeville, he garnered All-America honors in the 5,000 meters in both track & field campaigns in 2013. Dinzeo placed seventh at the indoor championships in Birmingham before finishing fifth in the spring while in Colorado. In the 2013-14 season, he earned All-America laurels three times and repeated as a CSC First-Team Academic All-American. In the fall, he placed second overall at both the PSAC Championships and NCAA Regional Championships. Dinzeo helped the Vulcans match their best-ever team finish at the league meet before posting the best finish in program history at the regional race. He returned to Washington for the 2013 NCAA National Championships and finished fifth overall to receive All-America merits. Dinzeo set the all-time PSAC record in the 10,000-meter run that spring at Stanford and earned All-America honors in both the 5,000 and 10,000 meters. At the NCAA Championships in Michigan, he placed third in the 10,000 meters before finishing fifth in the 5,000 meters two days later. Dinzeo was tabbed the PSAC Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year after winning the league title in both distance events. He capped his career in the fall of 2014, as he was named both the PSAC Athlete of the Year and USTFCCCA Regional Athlete of the Year after winning the individual title at both cross country championships. Dinzeo placed second overall in a field of nearly 250 runners at the NCAA National Championships in Louisville to mark the program’s highest finish at the event since 1983. Following that spring, he was voted a CSC First-Team Academic All-American for the third-straight year and was selected the CSC Academic All-American of the Year for men’s cross country/track & field.
Dinzeo earned his bachelor’s degree in anthropology with a minor in archaeology in 2015. He is the fifth distance standout inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame, and the first in nearly a decade.
updated April 5, 2025
