One year after finishing 82nd at NCAA Division 1 finals, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo transfer has developed into one of the elite cross country runners in the nation for Razorbacks, who seek first women’s championship and potential calendar-year triple crown

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Devin Clark called Katie Izzo a “wild card.”

Taylor Werner has said the former Cal Poly San Luis Obispo standout is “the person we needed and didn’t realize.”

And Arkansas women’s cross country coach Lance Harter has called his 19th Southeastern Conference individual champion, “a gift.”

All of these assessments about an athlete who placed 82nd at last year’s NCAA Division 1 Championships, one spot behind Werner.

“Finishing in 82nd place, just one spot behind Taylor, must have been the universe telling me that I’d be training and racing right next to her pretty soon,” Izzo said. “I was proud of myself for making it there, but I left the race with the feeling that I could accomplish more on a big stage.”

In order to do so, Izzo left California, where she had also graduated from Los Alamitos High, and decided to complete her collegiate career at Arkansas.

Largely unknown outside of the Big West Conference when she arrived in Fayetteville, Izzo has made the rapid ascent to becoming one of the most recognized figures in Razorback athletics this fall, with the senior looking to help a veteran Arkansas lineup reach its potential and capture the program’s first women’s team title Saturday in the Division 1 final at the LaVern Gibson course in Terre Haute, Ind.

“I knew my passion and work ethic could take me far, but this new adventure in Arkansas has exceeded my expectations,” Izzo said. “I am treated like a professional athlete here, and I feel like I’ve been adopted into a family of the best teammates and friends, coaches, trainers and support staff in all of the NCAA.”

Arkansas returned several experienced athletes from last year’s group that placed 14th at the national championship meet, the third year in a row the Razorbacks had finished outside the top 10 after finishing ninth in 2015.

But with Harter uncertain about the health of sophomore Katrina Robinson, it appeared the Razorbacks might keep an eye on the future by potentially redshirting junior Lauren Gregory and Izzo to bolster next year’s lineup, but still racing junior Abby Gray and seniors Maddy Reed, Carina Viljoen, Clark and Werner while hoping for the development of a few younger athletes to round out the roster.

Plans quickly changed for Harter, who realized this group, both in talent and chemistry, might finally be the team to end Arkansas’ drought and earn a spot on the national podium for the first time since 1999, in addition to challenging for the program’s first championship.

“She has come right in from day one and immersed herself into the team. The rest of the team figured out real quickly, ‘Oh my gosh, this girl is a huge asset for us and what a gift to have.’ What an opportunity she has created for us,” Harter said. “Lauren and Katie both had the option to redshirt, but both of them when they saw the rest of their teammates and the potential of them, they both said, ‘Forget that idea, we’re going to get after it.’”

Had it not been for the most challenging chapter of her collegiate career at Cal Poly, suffering a broken right tibia and fibula in the 2016 NCAA West Regional race which resulted in her sitting out the following year and having remaining eligibility this fall, Izzo might have never had this opportunity at Arkansas.

“After breaking my leg in my sophomore year and not being able to run for seven months, I had a deep reflection period and this revived my passion for the sport,” Izzo said. “Being surrounded by such incredibly talented and hard-working women has absolutely brought out the best athlete in me. Coach Harter gives us great workouts that can test us both mentally and physically, but we constantly encourage each other to hang in there together. I think of myself being attached to my teammates by a rope, and that has gotten me through countless workouts.

“The amazing support runs through the entire team and program. My teammates who are injured are at every workout to cheer us on. They can make me smile even in the middle of a rep, and they push me to keep going when things get tough.”

For an Arkansas group that has also endured its share of injuries in the past five years, Izzo’s optimistic outlook and infectious spirit have been just as impactful on the Razorbacks’ program as her unlimited potential.

“The whole ‘positive’ thing can be hard on days that you don’t feel well, or sometimes the vibe on the team is just low. But you can bet that everyday Katie will walk into the locker room with a huge smile on her face, and you know that every workout she’s going to give it her all,” Werner said. “Being constantly reminded of how far she’s come and just her overall attitude has been a huge reason as to why we all see success. Sure, maybe we’d still be good without her, but she just shows us how much hard work and mentality plays into the grand scheme of things.

“Having her on the team creates a huge confidence boost in my opinion, because you know she’s going to give it her all no matter the race or competition, and she’s going to do well.”

Following her return from injury, Izzo – who has a titanium rod surgically inserted into her right leg – kept her mileage to a minimum at Cal Poly in an effort to make sure she wasn’t overtraining and would be able to contribute at the conference and regional meets.

“My first race of that cross country season was one of my first workouts,” Izzo said. “I was just grateful to be competing in uniform and did not want to be sitting out on the sidelines, so I kept my mileage low with the motto being ‘less is more.’”

But since her arrival in Fayetteville, Izzo has not only seen her mileage double from last year, but the quality of workouts training with several All-Americans, both in cross country and track have been the most productive of her career.

“It took some trial and error to figure out what mileage worked best for me, and this summer I got in more quality miles than I ever had in years past,” Izzo said. “I increased my mileage slow and steady throughout the summer and have stayed consistent with it this season. I think that’s been a contributing factor to the success I’ve found at Arkansas so far.”

Izzo’s presence has also been a significant reason why a distance group that has already contributed to national championships in both indoor and outdoor track and field this year, now has an opportunity Saturday to help the Razorbacks complete a calendar-year triple crown of Division 1 titles.

Only Texas (1986) and Oregon (2016-17) have previously won all three women’s national crowns in succession.

“The first week of her being here, we all came to the realization that she was going to be someone who would outwork just about anyone. She spread this attitude across the entire team and we are all the better for it,” Clark said. “Not only this, but she is always genuinely happy. In the last (kilometer) of regionals, she said to me, Carina, and Taylor, ‘I love you guys so much,’ and then we all finished together holding up the ‘A’ across the line.”

With Izzo leading five Razorbacks in the top nine at the Southeastern Conference finals, then contributing to a perfect score of 15 by sweeping the top five spots at the South Central Regional, Arkansas has continued to build momentum toward potentially presenting Harter with his first Division 1 national cross country championship after the veteran coach won eight in a row in Division 2 from 1982-89 at Cal Poly.

“Coach Harter is a legend and I have complete trust in his coaching and take his advice to heart,” Izzo said. “Our consistency in races this season reflects the belief we have in each other and our trust in Coach, knowing he has fully prepared us for any race.”

That preparation has allowed Izzo to finally realize the potential that coaches at Los Alamitos saw in her as a high school senior in 2015 and embrace every opportunity in front of her after making her national championship debut last year in Wisconsin.

“Making it to nationals as an individual was a fairytale story for me. The race itself was a crazy and exciting experience with it being my first time at a NCAA National Championship meet,” Izzo said. “Words can’t explain how grateful I am to be at Arkansas, to have another opportunity to race cross country nationals, and to be a part of a possibly historic moment for the program.

“This time around, I’m not just running for myself, I’m running for my team. This last season has been very special – breaking course records, getting a new PR with almost every race, our perfect score at regionals and being undefeated as a team so far. I want to make my last collegiate cross country race my best one yet, and leave Terre Haute knowing I gave it my all.”

And no one in attendance at LaVern Gibson will be surprised if Izzo and Werner cross the finish line one after the other again Saturday. Only this time, it will both likely be as All-Americans for the Razorbacks, who will be relying on their maturity and experience one last time in pursuit of a national championship.

“I’m incredibly blessed to have Katie as a teammate,” Werner said. “I cannot wait to see what she accomplishes.”