Oregon’s Izzy Thornton-Bott ran a lifetime best 4:13.75 in the Invitational 1500m at Oregon Relays on Friday. Photo by Logan Hannigan-Downs

By Cassie Cole

The 1500m Invite at the Oregon Relays proved to be a close race between its top finishers. Angel Piccirillo of Oregon Track Club Elite cinched the win with her time of 4:13.45, but it wasn’t without a bit of pressure from Oregon's Izzy Thornton-Bott.

Hayward Field at the University of Oregon has been good to Izzy Thornton-Bott. The redshirt junior from Sydney, Australia may be new to UO Track and Field, but she’s made herself at home at Hayward.

A middle-distance specialist, Thornton-Bott competed in the 1500m Invite on Friday, her second outdoor 1500 at Hayward Field.

“My main goal going into the bell lap before—and what I feel like I did really well in this race—was I wanted to stay connected to the leaders,” said Thornton-Bott. She maintained a third place spot for the majority of the race, following behind Bowerman Track Club’s Vanessa Fraser and Piccirillo.

The three runners held the lead for the first 1000m, but Piccirillo began to pick up speed in the last lap. Coming around the final curve with 200m to go, Piccirillo finally passed Fraser to move into first. Thornton-Bott followed suit, pulling around Fraser on the outside and tucking in behind Piccirillo.

Thornton-Bott, who finished second in the 1500m at the Hayward Premiere, knew that she had to take a chance. “This is it, now we’re gonna get going,” said Thornton-Bott after the race, explaining her mindset in the last lap. Her kick in the last 100m moved her close enough to Piccirillo that the latter began to worry about her lead.

“I could feel [Thornton-Bott’s presence] a little bit and I was like, ‘Oh!’” said Piccirillo. Thornton-Bott finished just barely behind Piccirillo with a time of 4:13.75.

Piccirillo, who joined Oregon Track Club Elite last year, didn’t have big expectations for the race.

“OTC was just at altitude so we’re just trying to see how the benefits of that paid off,” said Piccirillo. “Where we’re at, what we need to work on.” With her first place finish on Friday, it seems like Piccirillo’s altitude training is paying off so far.

“It’s nice to win one,” Piccirillo added.

Oregon Track Club Elite’s Angel Piccirillo breaks the tape in 4:13.45 to take the victory in the invitational 1500m at the 2022 Oregon Relays. Photo by Logan Hannigan-Downs

For Thornton-Bott, Friday’s 1500m race was a reflection of her fitness. Her finishing time took nearly three seconds off her previous best of 4:16.56 from the Hayward Premiere earlier this month.

“I felt like I’m fitter than I was even two weeks ago,” said Thornton-Bott.

Although Thornton-Bott finished second in the 1500m Invite, she’s happy with her performance. “I’m just here to give it my best shot,” she said. “And my best shot tonight resulted in another PB.”