Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1482392
50 OCT. 29, 2022 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED ND SPORTS after a 7,600-mile relocation, the new family member just wanted to fit in. And not surprisingly, adaptation didn't happen overnight. "It changed the dynamics of the house- hold. Bringing Izaiah in was definitely an adjustment," Tammy Steury shared from a mother's perspective. "This is a whole different culture for him, learning the lan- guage, figuring out his place in the family. "But all the kids were so supportive. He was a blessing for all of us." Airlifted into an athletic and active family, Steury wanted to fit in. And he tried his best by following his brothers' lead in baseball, basketball and soccer. "I wasn't very good, and I didn't enjoy any of it," Steury said with a laugh. "My brothers excelled at everything, 'What am I good at?'" Disinterested and also frustrated with not keeping up, Steury was persuaded by a seventh-grade friend to try cross country. Raw, but naturally gifted, Steury needed less than two years to move from seventh- grad newbie in the sport to a 38th-place finisher from Angola at the 2018 Indiana High School State Championship. "It was so much fun, just passing peo- ple and beating people," Steury said of his quick ascent. "I was actually good at some- thing. Maybe this is something I can do." Enthused and inspired from his ex- ponential improvement and impres- sive freshman finish, Steury put in the work and finished seventh in the state as sophomore in 2019. The following year, as a junior in 2020, Steury eclipsed every goal he could've imagined and won the individ- ual Indiana state title in 15:23.70, nearly nine seconds ahead of the runner-up. Steury capped his high school career with a second-place finish at the 2021 state meet, then moved his life's journey 80 miles west along the 80/90 Indiana Toll Road, with the love and support of his family in tow. "You take the cross country away from Izaiah, and he's still very much a remark- able young man," said Leroy Steury, a proud father and the patriarch of the fam- ily. "Maybe it's because of where he came from, but what amazes me the most about Izaiah is his ability to talk to people, and people just like to be around him. "He's a remarkable young man." ✦ IRISH ROUNDUP Through Oct. 20 CROSS COUNTRY The Fighting Irish captured three top-five team finishes at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational Oct. 14 in Madison, Wis. … The No. 6 nationally ranked women placed fifth in their 5K race, while the No. 6 men posted a fifth-place showing in the men's A 8K and crossed the finish line second on the men's B 8K. MEN'S GOLF Notre Dame tied for seventh in its final competition of the fall at the Quail Valley Collegiate Invita- tional Oct. 16-17 in Vero Beach, Fla. … The Irish shot a 20-under-par 835 as a team. WOMEN'S GOLF The Fighting Irish finished 13th out of 15 teams at the Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invitational Oct. 17-18 in Lawrence, Kan. … Notre Dame closes out its fall schedule in The Club at Olde Stone Inter- collegiate Oct. 24-25 at Bowling Green, Ky. HOCKEY (2-1-1 OVERALL, 0-0-0 BIG TEN) Notre Dame opened up its home slate by sweeping two games from Northern Michigan, 3-1 Oct. 14 and 5-4 Oct. 16 … The No. 13 Irish host Western Michigan Oct. 21-22. MEN'S SOCCER (6-6-1 OVERALL, 2-3-0 ACC) The Fighting Irish lost 2-0 at Duke Oct. 14, but they responded with a 4-2 victory at Illinois-Chicago Oct. 18 … Notre Dame hosts Virginia Tech Oct. 21, before hitting the road to take on Michigan Oct. 25 and Pittsburgh Oct. 28. WOMEN'S SOCCER (12-2-0 OVERALL, 5-2-0 ACC) No. 5 Notre Dame defeated Louisville 2-0 Oct. 15 … The Irish play at Virginia Tech Oct. 20 and at Wake Forest Oct. 23. VOLLEYBALL (9-9 OVERALL, 4-4 ACC) The Irish extended their win streak to four matches by edging Wake Forest 3-2 Oct. 14 and topping Virginia Tech 3-1 Oct. 16 … Next up for Notre Dame are matches at Virginia Oct. 23 and at Louisville Oct. 26. — Steve Downey The Steury family at the Indiana High School State Championships, from left to right: Tammy, Kylie, Zach, Izaiah, Micah, Maddy and Leroy. PHOTO COURTESY IZAIAH STEURY