Angela Bizzarri Pflugrath is a

Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO or D.O., or in Australia DO USA) is a medical degree conferred by the 38 osteopathic medical schools in the United States. DO and Doctor of Medicine (MD) degrees are equivalent: a DO graduate may become licens ...

(DO) and a former American

distance Distance is a numerical or occasionally qualitative measurement of how far apart objects or points are. In physics or everyday usage, distance may refer to a physical length or an estimation based on other criteria (e.g. "two counties over"). ...

runner. She competed for the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

(2006–2010) and won three NCAA national championships: in Cross Country, as well as in the 5000 meters (outdoor) and 3000 meters (indoor). As an Illini she earned nine

All-American honours The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

and five

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

titles. She also holds Illini records in the 1500 meters, 3000 meters, 5000 meters (outdoor), 5000 meters (indoor), the mile, and, in Cross Country, the 6000 meters. Bizzarri ran professionally for

Brooks Sports Brooks Sports, Inc., also known as Brooks Running, is an American sports equipment company that designs and markets high-performance men's and women's sneakers, clothing, and accessories. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, Brooks products are ...

and trained in San Diego, then moved to Seattle to train with Danny Mackey's Brooks Beasts group.

High school

Bizzarri attended

William Mason High School (Mason, Ohio) William Mason High School, also known as Mason High School (WMHS or MHS), is a four-year public high school located in the Mason City Schools district in Mason, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio. History Mason High School's first commencement ...

. She was the Ohio D1 state champion for cross country in 2002 and 2004. She was the Ohio D1 Track and Field state champion in the 3,200m from 2003-2006 and took first in the 1600m at the 2006 state meet. She helped her team to the Ohio Division 1 state title in 2004.Angela Bizzarri NCAA XC Champion: Changes in the past few years effect big results She was a four-time letter winner in both cross country and track and field." Her coaches were Jeff Branham and Kelly Affatato. Angela Bizzarri Player Bio

College

Freshman Year

Cross Country: As a freshman in 2006, Bizzarri finished 24th at the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Cross Country meet, earning All-American honors. She ran 21:18 on the

Terre Haute Terre Haute ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, about 5 miles east of the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a ...

NCAA course. She was the runner-up in the Midwest Regional meet, running 20:49 and earning all-region honors. She was fifth in the

meet with a time of 20:49,2006 Big Ten Cross Country Results earning all-conference honors. At the Pre-National meet, she ran her 6k personal best for the season, 20:26 and finishing eighth. She was the Big Ten Runner of the week after winning her collegiate debut at the Brissman-Lundeen Invite. Angela was Illinois' top runner in every cross country race. Indoor Track: Bizzarri was third in the Big Ten Championship Mile. Outdoor Track: Bizzarri qualified and competed in the NCAA Championships in the 1500m. She ran her season-best of 4:20.96 in the 1,500m in prelims at the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships. She placed 11th in the 1,500m at the Big Ten Championships with a time of 4:25.09.Big Ten Championships:Womens 1500m final She also ran the 3,000m at the USA Junior meet.

Sophomore Year

Cross Country: Bizzarri placed 14th at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in 20:35. This helped place the Illini team 6th overall and gave Bizzarri her second All-American honor. She was second at Midwest Regionals, running 20:03, and gaining All-Region honors. She finished third in the Big Ten meet, earning an All-conference status and running 19:59. She also finished fourth in the Pre-National meet at

. She was named Academic All-Big Ten. Indoor Track: Bizzarri earned her third All-American honor, anchoring the mile leg of the Illini

distance medley relay The distance medley relay (DMR) is an athletic event in which four athletes compete as part of a relay. With its inclusion in the IAAF World Relays program, the IAAF announced on May 1, 2015 that the event would be an official world record event. U ...

to a sixth-place finish with an overall time of 11:12. At the Alex Wilson Invitational, she helped the distance medley set a school record of 11:09.09, winning the race. At the Big Ten Championships, she placed fifth in the 3000m (9:23.03) and fifth in the mile (4:47.76). She ran her fastest mile of 4:41.98 at the Iowa State Classic. Outdoor Track: Bizzarri qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials and made the finals, where she finished 13th. She ran her season-best of 15:45.78 in the Prelims and ran 16:03.99 in the finals. At the NCAA meet, she finished second in the

5000m The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Athletics at the Summer Olympics, Olympic Games and the World Championships in At ...

with a time of 15:46.08,Illini of the Decade: #4 Angela Bizzarri earning All-American honors. She won the Midwest Regional Title in the 5000m in 16:24.38. She was second in the 5000m at the Big Ten meet (16:27.73), and fifth in the 1500m(4:25.30). She ran her season-best 1500m of 4:19.95 at the Sun Angel Track Classic. She was also awarded the Big Ten Track Athlete of the Week after winning the 5000m at the Brutus Hamilton Invite in a time of 16:16.43. She received the Dike Eddleman Award as the Illinois Female Athlete of the Year as well.

Junior Year

Cross Country: Bizzarri finished sixth at the National NCAA meet, running 19:59 2008 NCAA Cross Country Results and earning All-American honors, setting the new school record. This helped her team to a "" finish. She finished third in the Midwest Regional. She was seventh in the Big Ten Meet, running 20:52. She finished 14th at Pre-Nationals (20:47) in her season opener. She was recovering from injury during the early season. She earned Academic All-Big Ten. Indoor Track: Bizzarri was fourth in the 3000m of the NCAA Championships (9:15.50). She placed second in the 3000m (9:20.77) and fourth in the 5000m (16:07.50) at the Big Ten Championships. Her 5000m performance was her first indoor 5k and she broke the school record. She also broke the 3000m indoor school record at the Meyo Invitational (9:11.62). Outdoor Track: Bizzarri took third in the 5,000m at the USA Championships with a personal-best time of 15:33.02. At the NCAA National meet, she won the 5000m in 16:17.94. She won the Midwest Regional 5000m (16:11.00) setting a new meet record. At the Big Ten meet, she won the 5000m (15:54.86) title and placed second in the 1500m (4:16.86), setting a new 1500m school record. She placed third in the 5000m at the Mt. Sac invitational, running 15:37.39. She received her second Dike Eddleman Award as the University of Illinois Female Athlete of the Year. She was named a second-team Academic All-American by ESPN. She also received an Academic All-Big Ten award.

Senior Year

Cross Country: Bizzarri won the NCAA Cross Country national title with a personal best and new school record of 19:46. She earned All-American status once again and became the first female Illini to win a Cross Country national title. She won Midwest Regionals as well, in 20:07.5. She finished second at the Big Ten Meet with a time of 20:10. She won the Pre-National meet in 20:27.8. She finished second at the Wisconsin Inter-Regional meet with a 5k time of 17:22. Her season opener was the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invite in a time of 22:16. During her impressive senior Cross Country season, Angela was named the National Cross Country Athlete of the Year by the USATF, earned the

Honda Sports Award The Honda Sports Award is an annual award in the United States, given to the best collegiate female athlete in each of twelve sports. There are four nominees for each sport, and the twelve winners of the Honda Sports Award are automatically in th ...

for Cross Country, was named Midwest Region Athlete of the year, and was named Big Ten Runner of the Week on October 20 after her win at Pre-Nationals. She again also earned Academic All-Big Ten honors. She was named the Division I female cross country Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the 2009 season. Indoor Track: Bizzarri won her third national title in the NCAA 3000m, breaking her own school record with a time of 8:57.40, just edging out Lisa Koll of Iowa State University by 12 hundredths of a second. At the Big Ten Conference meet, she won both the 3000m (9:10.16) and the 5000m (16:06.88), setting a new 5000m school record. She also tied the school record in the mile (4:40.68) at the Tyson Invitational. Outdoor Track: Bizzarri placed 5th in the 5000m (15:39.81) at the USA Championships. Angela tried to reach the world championships B-standard of 15:25, but she fell short (15:57) in her only attempt on July 15 in Liege, Belgium. She qualified and ran the 5000m at the NCAA championships, but did not finish the race. She won her West Regional race in the 5000m with a time of 16:33.81. At the Big Ten Conference meet, Angela won the 1500m in 4:15.42, setting a new school record and beating out Gabriele Anderson of Minnesota by 1 hundredth of a second.2010 Outdoor Big Ten Championships She also won the conference 5000m (16:12.35). She ran her fastest 5000m of the season at the Stanford's Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational. She placed second in the 1,500m at the Sun Angel Classic and sixth in the 1,500m-special race at the Drake Relays. She earned her third Dike Eddleman Award, was named first-team Academic All-American by ESPN magazine, and was named Academic All-Big Ten. In 2019, she was inducted into the University of Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame.

University of Illinois Athletic Accolades

Bizzarri's awards and titles as an Illini: *Three-time NCAA champion (outdoor 5,000m, cross country, indoor 3,000m) *Three-time University of Illinois Dike Eddleman Female Athlete of the Year *Nine-time All-American *Five-time Big Ten Champion *2009 USTFCCCA National Cross Country Athlete of the Year *2009–10

Winner for cross country *2009 Big Ten Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year *Seven-time school record-holder *Two-time Academic All-American *Six-time Academic All-Big Ten

University of Illinois Best Times

Professional

Bizzarri signed with

after her collegiate career in 2010. She was training with the Mammoth Track Club until late summer 2012. After a short stint in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

, she moved to

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

to be coached by Danny Mackey.

Personal

She earned her Molecular and Cellular Biology degree from the

in the fall of 2010 and began competing for Brooks in the spring outdoor track season of 2011.Brooks:AthleteBio:Angela Bizzarri In 2019, she was inducted into the University of Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame. Bizzarri Pflugrath and her husband, Karl, live in Vallejo, California, where she finished medical school at

Touro University California Touro University California is a private graduate school focused primarily on health professions and located on Mare Island in Vallejo, California. It is part of the Touro College and University System and is jointly administered with its sis ...

majoring in Osteopathic Medicine. She is currently a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine at Valley Children's Healthcare in California.

2014

* Bizzarri ran a 5000m in 15:36.78 at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

Payton Jordan Payton Jordan (March 19, 1917 – February 5, 2009) was the head coach of the 1968 United States Olympic track and field team, one of the most powerful track teams ever assembled, which won a record twenty-four medals, including twelve golds. ...

Invitational in

Palo Alto Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. The city was estab ...

(USA) on 04.05.2014. * Bizzarri ran a 1500m in 4:11.63 at

Portland Track Festival Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

(USA) on 15.06.2014. * Bizzarri finished 11th in 5000m in 15:59.02 at

USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships is an annual track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. Since the year 1992, in the years which feature a Summer Olym ...

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

. * Bizzarri ran a 4:34 Liberty mile to finish 4th on August 1.

2015

Bizzarri ran at

twice: * In April, she ran a 10,000 meters in 32:26.98 * In May, she ran a 5000 meters in 15:30.00.

2016

Bizzarri ran at

: * In May, she ran a 10,000 meters in 33:04.10. * Bizzarri ran 5000 meters in 15:57.10 at

Lewis and Clark College Lewis & Clark College is a private liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon. Originally chartered in 1867 as the Albany Collegiate Institute in Albany, Oregon, the college was relocated to Portland in 1938 and in 1942 adopted the name Lewis & Cl ...

(USA) on 12.06.2016.

Reference list

External links

* * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bizzarri, Angela American female long-distance runners 1988 births Living people Illinois Fighting Illini women's track and field athletes People from Mason, Ohio Sportspeople from Warren County, Ohio Sportspeople from Ohio Illinois Fighting Illini women's cross country runners