Angela Bizzarri (2022)
About Angela Bizzarri
When Angela Bizzarri stepped onto the track at Oregon’s Hayward Field for the 2016 Olympic Trials, no one who ever saw her run as a young athlete should have been surprised. As a freshman at Mason, the first of her eight Individual State Championship titles came in Division I Cross Country (2002). She would go on to win the 2004 Individual title capping an undefeated season and finish her XC career in 2005 as the Runner-up. On the track, she was the epitome of the true distance runner. After winning her second State Championship title in the 3200M—the first of her four year sweep in that event—she added the 1600M to her State repertoire winning that event her senior year along with a leg on the State Champion 4 x 800M relay, thus capping the distance triple. Leaving Mason with seven school records, she moved on to the University of Illinois where, ironically, she also holds seven school records and became the most decorated woman in Illini history. A four time All American in cross country, she stamped her collegiate career in 2009 by winning the NCAA National Championship. The previous spring, she had won her first national title by winning the 5000M, and she followed up her cross country success with the indoor 3000M title. Along the way to these Championship efforts, she garnered nine All American honors, five Big Ten titles, the 2009 USTFCCCA Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award, and the Big Ten Medal of Honor (2010). In 2019, Angela was inducted into the University of Illinois Hall of Fame. After college, Angela signed with Brooks Sports and competed on the national level for several years posting PR’s in the 5000M of 15:57.10 and the 10K of 33:04.10 and making 2016 a very good year. And then came the Trials. Not surprising at all. Angela has recently completed Medical school and lives in California with her husband, Karl.
