Colorado University Athletics
Buffs Standout Ghizzone Draws Strength From Family
April 11, 2017 | Track and Field
BOULDER — Many know Andrew Ghizzone as one of the top multi-event performers in University of Colorado history.
However, what people may not know is that behind Ghizzone's success lies his athletic and supportive family.
Ghizzone started off in gymnastics but an interest in track was sparked because he wanted to compete against his older brother Zach, who is also a multi-athlete at Rutgers University.
"I really wanted to beat my brother in everything," Ghizzone said. "I was doing gymnastics before that and did track and gymnastics at the same time, and just saw that there was a knack for cross country and track and field."
Although Ghizzone is now a scholarship track athlete, he still dedicates his time to coach gymnastics locally. His coach, Lindsey Malone, is grateful for his background in gymnastics because the skills learned as a gymnast carries over to his demanding event group, which requires one to master as many as 10 different events.
"He was exceptional out of high school, which also helps in kinesthetic awareness … because he has an awareness of where body parts are," Malone said regarding Ghizzone's gymnastic background. "I can tell him pretty advanced things for someone his age and he can grasp onto it 30 to 40 percent faster than the typical athlete because he's had that much experience controlling his body."
Ghizzone's ability to be in tune with his body must translate to the track, as his name is among the top 10 athletes in CU history in six out of the seven event groups for the heptathlon. The junior pushed his way up in the Colorado record books this past indoor season, ending the season ranked first in CU history in the heptathlon with combined total points of 5,405, and he is ninth on the all-time CU list of top performers in the decathlon. Ghizzone finished the indoor season with a seventh place finish at the MPSF championships and will begin his outdoor season this week at the Mt. Sac Relays decathlon.
Track and gymnastics are not the only talents Ghizzone has. He also grew up knowing how to speak fluent sign language, in order to communicate with his mother Anne, who is deaf.
"My mom is super proud of her overcoming the adversity and raising four really good children," Ghizzone said. "Sign language is really cool because now I'm able to talk to a lot more people."
"They will face time," Malone said. "It's either before or after practice and he is just signing away so she has an opportunity to see what we are doing every single day."
Although his mother cannot yell at him and cheer him on while he is competing, she still manages to travel to the majority of meets and is one of the CU track team's biggest supporters. Anne also takes up to Twitter to show support for her son.
"She's been huge," Ghizzone said. "Especially now with social media, she can really show that. She can't be out there yelling at track meets, but she can retweet things a thousand times and she usually does."
"She travels out to most of our big meets and she goes on her own," Malone said. "So she has to get her own taxi, her own Uber, and her own flights — all without having the ability to speak to every single person she comes into contact with. So that bravery has set the stage for Andrew to also continue in her path and in everything that he does."
After his record-setting indoor season, Ghizzone's goal is to translate that success to the outdoor season in the decathlon.
"I think I broke a barrier by scoring in the conference and now I want my name to be known a little bit more," Ghizzone said, regarding his goals for the outdoor season. "Not just the decathlon, but also in a couple of individual events as well."
