Elite distance runner Karrie Baloga of Cornwall leaves Colorado for Northern Arizona
Karrie Baloga has traded the Rockies for The Peaks.
The All-American distance runner from Cornwall High School recently announced her decision to transfer from the University of Colorado to Northern Arizona University. In doing so, she signed a Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) deal with shoe manufacturer HOKA.
“The whole team experience wasn’t exactly what I had expected,’’ Baloga, 18, said of her time at Colorado. Baloga said she enjoys “the feeling of being a collegiate athlete’’ and is excited about creating new goals with the Lumberjacks.
Baloga had a remarkable freshman season and was pleased with her outcomes but she wasn’t happy with the team environment.
“The way that I was feeling,’’ she said, “I guess the circumstances that I was in wasn’t the greatest. I really wasn't happy with how I was feeling throughout the last few weeks and just how I was feeling about the program overall.’’
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Baloga started to have second thoughts about Colorado just ahead of the NCAA Mountain Regionals. At the Pac 12 championships, Colorado finished behind Washington and Stanford and Baloga was her team’s leading finisher, in eighth place – she called it the high point of her season. Colorado was fourth at regionals and Baloga placed 29th.
Placing herself in the transfer portal three days after nationals, Baloga drew attention from 50 coaches within two hours, and decided upon NAU. “It was crazy crazy,’’ she said of the process. She said she had “three whole pages of exactly what I needed to thrive’’ and the Lumberjack coaches checked every box.
“I needed to be in a better environment … I think I could just sum it down to that,’’ Baloga said. “I'm somebody who gets along with everybody and I think I just need to be in that similar environment where people are professional and everybody wants to be there at practice every day. … That's what I need because it reflects who I am and I think the structure of the way that they (NAU) run this program is honestly incredible.’’
“I just feel so good about it,’’ she added. “I've had no second thoughts about my decision and I'm starting to feel like myself again. … It just feels like home and feels like this was my real dream.’’
Northern Arizona – from the Big Sky Conference – finished as the national runner-up. Colorado was 19th in at the NCAA finals.
At NCAAs Baloga finished 82nd overall (and No. 62 among team competitors), covering 6,000 meters in 20:33.5. She was Colorado’s third finisher and No. 11 among all freshmen in the race.
Baloga may be considered the best female distance runner to come out of Section 9 and Orange County. She won the 2022 state Federation and Class B public titles in cross country, posted the eighth-fastest time at San Diego’s Balboa Park (frequent site for nationals) and earned a Team USA medal at the Under-20 world championships.
On the track, she was a 28-time sectional and 28-time league champ, primarily in distance events, and five-time state champ at 3,000 meters. She is a multiple-time member of Team USA and participant at national championship events.
Baloga originally chose Colorado over Oklahoma State, Mississippi and North Carolina State.
“I think I’m going to thrive,’’ at NAU, Baloga added.
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This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Karrie Baloga: Cornwall cross country alum transfers to Northern Arizona
