Becca Heitzig making history as a freshman at Iowa State University

 

[February 17, 2025]  It did not take long for Lincoln’s Becca Heitzig to make history at Iowa State University. The track standout, who graduated from LCHS in 2024 as a multi-sport state champion in Illinois, has made her way into the record books already at Iowa State University.

On Saturday Heitzig was one of four Cyclones (the other three were men) who ended with a top ten finish at the Tyson Invite in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Heitzig was the top Cyclone in the women’s invite 800m, finishing in ninth place with a PR of 2:05.10. Heitzig trimmed 1.72 seconds off her previous best time and she is now ranked No. 5 in Iowa State history, according to the school’s track and field website.

The Iowa State Track and XC Twitter account posted a picture of Heitzig on Saturday afternoon and proclaimed, “Big PB for Becca. Becca Heitzig clocks 2:05.10 to take ninth in the invite 800 and now ranks at No. 5 in Iowa State history.”

Incredible! But no surprise to those here in Illinois who know Heitzig and her work ethic.

Sanu Jallow of Arkansas won the women’s invite 800 on Saturday with a time of 1:59.77. Makayla Clark, a junior at Iowa State who hails from Lee’s Summit, Missouri, finished 14th with a time of 2:07.89. Camryn Hubbard, an Iowa State sophomore from St. Louis, finished in 24th place with a time of 2:11.10.

Heitzig was also one of two freshmen finishing in the top ten. The other freshman, Evaline Chepkoech of Arizona State, finished 10th with a time of 2:05.99.

On the men’s side, three Cyclones finished in the top ten in the 800m. It was a good day for the 800m runners from Iowa State.

Back to Becca

In addition to making it into the history books at Iowa State, Heitzig is the No. 3 Division I freshman in the nation in the 800m. Overall she is in 49th place in the nation. This is just the beginning of what may be an amazing collegiate career.

Heitzig’s coach at Iowa State, Jeremy Sudbury, said via email on Sunday afternoon that Becca is “doing great.”

“Coach Cale Wallace and I have been really focusing on building up Becca’s confidence and allowing her to show off her natural talent by focusing on keeping her healthy and steadily progressing her training each week,” said Coach Sudbury.

Becca Heitzig is surrounded by her parents, Kim and Tim, at the Tyson Invite in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Photo courtesy of the Heitzig family.

“Becca’s race this weekend is still just a glimpse of what is to come,” Sudbury continued. “Her 2:05.10 indoor time over 800 meters shows she is becoming a young star in the Big 12 and the NCAA. Her execution of the race plan was very impressive at such a young age as she navigated a very competitive field to ultimately finish second. She has already knocked off nearly three seconds from her outdoor personal best from her junior year of high school and six seconds off from her previous indoor personal best in the 800 meters.”

“We couldn’t be happier with her progression and who she is as a person,” concluded Sudbury. “She’s a great teammate and big supporter of our entire program.”

Incidentally, Heitzig started the race on Saturday in last place and ran in that position for two laps, according to her dad, Tim Heitzig. With her parents, Tim and Kim, cheering her on, she made her way towards the front and finished in impressive fashion.

Becca is a true competitor, a great athlete and just a wonderful young woman, as the community of Lincoln knows. Now Iowa State and the rest of the country are getting a picture of what we’ve already seen here.

Congratulations, Becca!

[Teena Lowery]