Young Mustangs impress during 34th annual Cal Poly ShareSLO Invitational

Competing in front of the home crowd for the first time in her career, freshman Katie Izzo turned in one of the more exciting performances during the 34th annual Cal Poly ShareSLO Invitational on Saturday afternoon.

Flanked by teammates Erika Veidis and Peyton Bilo with one lap remaining in the women’s 1,500 meters, Izzo delivered an impressive finishing kick over the final 300 meters to win the event in a meet record time of 4 minutes, 26.24 seconds.

After setting a brisk pace for most of the race, Bilo, also a freshman, finished second in 4:27.23. Both times were good enough to top former Mustang Leanne Fogg’s meet record (4:27.37) that stood since 2011.

“My goal was just to keep it fast,” Izzo said. “Peyton definitely set the pace, and I knew Erika was going to be right there. That last lap I just thought, ‘I feel good,’ so I just kind of went for it.”

That’s arguably been the motto for Izzo’s entire first year in a Cal Poly uniform.

During cross country season in the fall, Izzo planned to redshirt — until a teammate was injured just before the Big West Conference championship race. The freshman stepped into her first competition since high school and ran her way to a ninth-place finish, helping the Mustangs secure the team title.

Distance running hasn’t always been Izzo’s preferred event.

Her prep career in Tucson, Ariz., began with a focus on the 400, and she developed into a state champion 800 runner by the end of her junior season.

Izzo transferred to Los Alamitos High in Seal Beach for her senior year, ultimately claiming a fourth-place finish at the CIF state meet in the 3,200.

Now teamed with the equally talented Bilo — who qualified for the NCAA Championship in cross country — the Mustangs seem to have an exciting distance tandem moving forward.

“She’s always pushing us and pushing the pace,” Izzo said of Bilo. “… I’m really happy we’re both freshmen, in this together. Our whole freshmen class is really strong.

“I’m excited for the years to come.”

Other individual winners for Cal Poly on the women’s side included Mallory Patino in the 400 hurdles (1:02.50), Allie Sulaitis in the 800 (2:13.29) and Kendal Nielsen in the triple jump. Nielsen turned in a personal-best jump of 41 feet, 4 inches, giving her the fourth and fifth longest marks in the event in school history.

A familiar face

Among the most popular athletes competing on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon at the Cal Poly Track was ex-Mustang Stephanie Brown Trafton.

The former Cal Poly All-American won the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and went on to place seventh at the 2012 Summer Games in London.

Each spring, the 36-year-old Brown Trafton comes back to her college campus, visiting with former coaches and teammates and starting her season “in a more casual atmosphere.”

She dominated Saturday’s competition with a winning throw of 199-8, which Brown Trafton said was one of her best marks in recent years. It also broke her own meet record set back in 2009, and stood as one of the top-10 throws in the world this year.

“I’ve been in hardcore training for, like, nine months now,” Brown Trafton said. “It’s nice just to see where I’m at. I was anxious to see where I am competitively.”

Brown Trafton said she plans to compete at least six more times before the Olympic Trials begin during the first week of July, and certainly has aspirations for qualifying for her third consecutive Olympics later this year in Rio de Janeiro.

Men pile up victories

Senior decathlete and javelin thrower Nick Ahrold set a strong early tone for the Mustang men.

The 6-foot-2, 170-pound Ahrold won the javelin with a top throw of 194-3, beating the next-closest competitor by more than 13 feet.

Sophomore Liam Martinez built off Ahrold’s early momentum and ran his way to a victory in the 400 in 50.01 seconds.

Cal Poly also went 1-2-3 in the men’s 1,500. Clayton Hutchins crossed the line first in 3:50.75, followed by teammates Peter Cotsirilos (3:52.06) and Swarnjit Boyal (3:53.77).

Other Mustang winners on the men’s side included Walter Finney in the 100 (10.91), Tyler Rohde in the 200 (21.99) and Arnold Sambel in the shot put (53-8) and discus (167-11¾).

In the men’s pole vault, Cal Poly graduate and school-record holder John Prader returned to win the competition in convincing fashion. He cleared the bar at 18-0½, while Cuesta’s Joe Reeves finished second at 16-0¾.

This story was originally published March 26, 2016 at 5:57 PM with the headline "Young Mustangs impress during 34th annual Cal Poly ShareSLO Invitational."