Check out a video story on Bizzarri here

On the occasion of their youngest daughter's high school graduation last weekend, Paul and Diane Bizzarri decided to observe the milestone with a nostalgic trip back in time.

Upon returning home from ceremonies at Mason High School in Cincinnati, the Bizzarris sat down to view old family videos of Class of 2010 graduate Carmen and big sister Angela.

Some of the video clips dated to when Angela, now 22, was as young as 6. And in many of the early videos, cameraman Paul also was running coach Paul, urging his two daughters to run. Run as fast as their legs would take them.

"Dad used to always be like, 'Go run around the house (outside). I'll time you,' " Angela said. "Or, 'Go run up the steps. See how fast you can run up the steps.'

"I don't think he was (actually) timing me. I think he was just trying to get me tired or to get me to go play outside. Just giving me something to do."

Little did Dad know that his camera was recording the strides of a future three-time NCAA distance-running champion and one of the most decorated athletes - in any sport - in University of Illinois history.

"She didn't look too coordinated at that point in time," Paul Bizzarri said. "She was very long-legged and at first wasn't very coordinated. But she got over that over time."

Indeed, the gangly grade-schooler matured into a polished and poised runner who has risen to the highest collegiate levels in her sports. She's won NCAA crowns in the trifecta of distance-running venues: cross-country,

ndoor track and outdoor track. She's regarded as one of the top amateur athletes in the United States, as signified by her stature as one of six finalists for the 2009 Sullivan Award.

And now, with the nine-time All-American concluding her collegiate career as one of two women in school history to win three NCAA titles - hurdling great Perdita Felicien is the other - Bizzarri is The News-Gazette's repeat selection as Illini Female Athlete of the Year.

"She's by far the best athlete that I've ever worked with - hands down, no question," UI women's cross-country head coach and track assistant Jeremy Rasmussen said. "As a coach you hope to have someone like Angela ... not only her talent level, but her desire and work ethic and competitiveness.

"It's been very rewarding to be able to see somebody flourish as much as she has."

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Bizzarri's journey from step-running scamperer to collegiate national champion began in earnest in her sixth-grade year. After giving sports like soccer and softball a whirl, she joined the track team at Sunman Dearborn Middle School, near the family home in Lawrenceburg, Ind. - across the Ohio River from Cincinnati.

Initially, Bizzarri competed in the sprints and hurdles. Within a year, however, it became obvious that she had a knack for the longer races and transitioned to events like the 800 meters and mile. And she was introduced to cross-country.

"I saw where she enjoyed doing it and obviously had an aptitude at running, too," Paul Bizzarri said.

So, following Angela's seventh-grade cross-country season, her father arranged for her to join a Cincinnati track club he'd heard about - the East Side Pride (since renamed the Cincinnati Spirit). Paul Bizzarri says he was motivated as much by the opportunity for his daughter to make new friends and be exposed to new experiences as by the coaching, training and competition the club offered.

By all appearances, Angela was in her comfort zone from the get-go.
"Before the first practice, I drove her to the door and she immediately jumped out of the car and said, 'See you later, Dad,' " Paul Bizzarri said. "She never once hesitated to go to training or do the required."

Angela Bizzarri credits then-East Side Pride coach Jeff Branhan with laying the vital groundwork for her long-term development.

"He knew training," she said. "I ran pretty fast in middle school."

Fast enough to win an Indiana middle school state title in cross-country as an eighth-grader. More significantly, fast enough to place first in her age group that same year at the Junior Olympic national cross-country meet in Lincoln, Neb.

Not that there weren't some bumps along the way. Like the time a young Bizzarri, who was no fan of loud noises, conceded a race due to the starter's gun.

Some background: During middle school track meets, Bizzarri would make a point of lining up in the lane farthest from the starter to get as far away as possible from the noise of the starter's gun. Even then, it wasn't uncommon for Bizzarri to hold her hands over her ears just before the race began.

Paul Bizzarri recalls at least one time, however, when such precautions weren't possible. The then-seventh-grader was assigned to the lane right next to the starter for a 400-meter race. Just before the gun even went off, Bizzarri walked off the track and didn't go through with the race.

"I have that one on tape," Paul Bizzarri said. "She just stepped away from it. She didn't like the gun. Didn't like the sound of the gun. I always told her if she would have ran the race, she probably may have won and may still be running the 400-meter event.

"By high school, the fear of guns and loud noises was less."

There would be growing pains and lessons learned in the heat of competition, too.

Branhan recalls a 2002 Junior Olympics national track meet in Omaha, Neb., where Bizzarri seemingly had a 3,000-meter victory in her grasp. When she slightly eased up near the end, she lost in a photo finish.

"It was the last time I ever saw her let up at a finish line," Branhan said.
Another time, in Bizzarri's first Junior Olympics national cross-country meet in 2000 at Reno, Nev., she made a determined push to overtake the leader. In the relatively thin mountain air, however, push came to shove within Bizzarri's lungs. She not only did not catch up but did not finish.

"I think that opened her eyes," Branhan said. "She learned some valuable lessons and took that and went back to work."

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The summer before his oldest daughter was to enter high school, a new job prompted Paul Bizzarri to move his family to the northern suburbs of Cincinnati. It didn't take long for Angela to make her presence felt as a Mason Comet.

As a freshman, Bizzarri won the Ohio Division I (large school) state title in cross-country by a comfortable 14 seconds.

"Obviously, it was a big surprise," she said. "I didn't know that I would be able to do that. At that point, to put it really simply, I was just running and trying to beat the people in front of me."

It was no fluke. The precocious freshman went on to capture another state cross-country title as a junior and earn seven state crowns overall, including track. In the latter sport, she won the 3,200 meters every year of her prep career.

Kelly Affatato was Bizzarri's cross-country coach and the track assistant in charge of distance runners at Mason - duties she continues to hold.

ccording to Affatato, Bizzarri remains as recognizable a name at her alma mater now as when she was racking up the medals as a Comet.

"She's a really big deal," the Mason coach said. "The kids all know who she is. Her name is up in our arena (for being a state champion). We constantly hold her up (to current athletes) as an example."

One of many examples worth following, Affatato says, was the way Bizzarri handled success.

"She still was always the same humble Angela," she said. "Nobody would know she was one of the most decorated athletes at our high school, one of the most successful athletes that we've had in the Cincinnati area.

"Even though she was an elite high school runner, she was always still a really big part of the team. She was always very focused on doing whatever she could to help her teammates. I think a lot of times kids can separate themselves and not necessarily have that team attitude because they can do it themselves. But she really was a strong part of our team."

To this day, Bizzarri says her biggest thrill in athletics occurred during her sophomore prep track season, when Mason tied for the state team title. She also regards helping Mason's 3,200 relay win at state during her senior year as highly valued memory.

"I had won (individual) state titles before that, but it really wasn't as much fun of an experience," she said. "Those (team) experiences were great because I feel I was part of an overall success. It wasn't really just about me; It was about a ton of other people ... people you train with who've helped you get where you're at."

For Affatato, such sentiments "speak a lot to her character."

"It always impresses me that of all the state championships she's won, she would always say that the title that meant the most to her was the one that she won as a team."

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Those who know Bizzarri well - even those she's closest to and most comfortable around - invariably describe her as the quiet type.

"She's pretty reserved and quiet," Paul Bizzarri said.

"She never drew attention to herself," Affatato said.

Said Rasmussen: "She doesn't like the limelight."

But don't mistake reserve with meekness. On the track or on the course, Bizzarri's coaches will tell you, she is one ferocious competitor.

"That's probably one of the biggest reasons she's as successful as she is," Rasmussen said. "When the chips are down and it's you and somebody else and you're trying to get to the line first - I can't teach that. I can't do anything in practice that's going get that person to have that desire to beat that (other) person."

For Affatato, Bizzarri's competitiveness is best exemplified by her unbroken string of Ohio state titles in the 3,200. Three times, Bizzarri faced the pressure of being the defending champion. Three times, she had the proverbial bull's-eye on her back. Three times, she responded by fighting off all challengers.

"It gets a little scarier when they get to be a junior and you think, 'Oh, can we do it again?' " Affatato said. "And then that final year to come back and be able to win a fourth time was unbelievable. An awesome feat for her."

Bizzarri's race instincts and adaptability also receive high marks. Each of her three NCAA titles was won in widely different circumstances.

In 2009, Bizzarri found herself in a strategic race in the outdoor 5,000, hanging with the pack until she and another runner broke away with three laps left. Then, with about 400 meters to go, the then-Illini junior found another gear and won by more than eight seconds.

Last fall in the NCAA cross-country championships, Bizzarri was forced to come from far behind to pull out the title. She trailed by 14 seconds with 2 kilometers left and, after clawing her way back into contention, took control in a two-runner duel over the final 100 meters.

In March, Bizzarri outbattled Iowa State's Lisa Koll in a photo finish for the indoor 3,000 crown, The two were separated by 0.12 second at the line.
"She's won every single way," Rasmussen said.

Said Branhan: "We saw all of those (attributes) in high school, as well. One of the things that really set Angela apart is her adaptability to different races."

The racing won't stop after college. Bizzarri - a 2008 Olympic Team Trials finalist and a 2009 bronze medalist at the USA Outdoor Championships - is next headed for the pro track circuit.

"I'm sure it will be a new learning experience and it will take some time trying to figure out what works and what doesn't," she said. "I'm excited to continue to compete.

"I think I'm excited for every new challenge." 

AMONG THE BEST

Angela Bizzarri is the latest Illini female athlete to make a name for herself well beyond Champaign-Urbana. A list of others who've won national titles or high honors during their collegiate careers:

Tonja Buford-Bailey, track. Three-time Olympian and 10-time All-American won NCAA 400-meter hurdles in 1992.

Mary Eggers, volleyball. Leader of two Final Four teams was 1989 Honda/Broderick national Player of Year.

Perdita Felicien, track. Two-time Canadian Olympian won three NCAA hurdles titles from 2002 to '03.

Renee Heiken, golf. Three-time All-American was National Golf Coaches Association Player of Year for 1992-93.

Tonya Williams, track. Two-time NCAA champion in 400-meter hurdles was an 18-time All-American.