California Polytechnic State University’s motto, “Learn by Doing,” reflects the perseverance, resilience and determination that define the journeys of its alumni. For professional track and field athletes Katie Izzo, Davis Bove and Travis Martin, that journey continues as they pursue their goals beyond the collegiate level, supported by fellow Cal Poly alumni through the USA Track & Field Foundation’s Adopt an Athlete program.
The USATF Foundation is pleased to announce Izzo, Bove and Martin as recipients of three Adopt an Athlete grants. USATF Foundation Board member and Cal Poly alumnus Joe Fabris, along with fellow Cal Poly alumni, are helping provide these athletes with financial support as they navigate the demands of professional competition.
The Adopt an Athlete program provides direct financial assistance to elite athletes to help offset the costs of training, competition, travel, equipment, coaching and other essential expenses. For athletes working to compete at the highest level, this support can help ease financial pressures and create more opportunities to focus on performance.
For Katie, a 2019 Cal Poly graduate and accomplished distance runner, the grant represents both a meaningful connection to her alma mater and an investment in her continued development as a professional athlete.
“I’m so incredibly grateful to receive this grant. It means the world to have the support and generosity of Joe and the Cal Poly alumni community. It takes a village to pursue this dream, and I feel blessed to have Joe and my fellow alumni in my corner,” said Katie.
During her collegiate career, Katie suffered a severe leg fracture at the 2016 NCAA West Region Cross Country Championships, requiring surgery and the insertion of a titanium rod in her tibia. Her recovery became a defining moment in her athletic journey, teaching her resilience and reinforcing the importance of the support system around her.
“My journey started at Cal Poly, and I wouldn’t be where I’m at today without my time at Cal Poly,” Katie said. “As much as I grew as an athlete, I grew as a person. I really learned how to deal with adversity there.”
Today, Katie continues to compete among the nation's top distance runners, representing the United States at international competitions. After finishing runner-up at the 2025 USATF Cross Country Championships, she earned a spot on Team USA for the 2026 World Athletics Cross Country Championships.
While sponsorship support helps cover many of the demands of professional running, additional expenses can make a meaningful difference in an athlete’s ability to stay healthy and compete consistently. Katie explained that the grant will help cover treatment and recovery services, including physical therapy, chiropractic care and other wellness resources.
“The cost of treatment and therapy — whether that be physical therapy, a chiropractor, or so many little wellness things — helps you get to the top of the world as far as performance goes,” Katie said. “I always want to be one of the top Americans in any given race, but my goals are to be one of the best in the world. This grant will allow me to use the money for treatment and stay healthy to perform at the best level that I can.”
For Travis Martin, a recent 2026 Cal Poly graduate and three-time All-Big West honoree in the men's hammer throw, financial support means something more immediate: the opportunity to devote more time and energy to training while managing the demands of making a living.
Travis has continued to excel in the event, winning the 2026 Big West championship and earning First Team All-America honors after finishing fifth in the hammer throw at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
Away from competition, however, Travis balances a rigorous training schedule with work as an electrician and four additional jobs. With early mornings on job sites, twice-daily training sessions and lifting, finding time to recover and prepare for competition requires careful planning.
“The biggest thing has been balancing work and training,” Travis said. “I’m an electrician, so I have to be at the job site as early as I can. With my training, I train twice a day and I lift, so just managing my time has been tough.”
The demands become even more challenging during competition season, when traveling to meets can prevent him from working and earning income. Travis plans to reserve much of his grant funding for those periods, helping cover competition-related travel and expenses when his work schedule must take a back seat to his athletic career.
“Receiving this grant frees up a lot of my time to focus more on training as opposed to funding the training,” Martin said.
For an athlete who has largely relied on his own work, along with the support of his coaches and family, the grant also represents a significant show of belief in his potential.
“Honestly this grant means everything,” Martin said when asked what receiving the grant means to him. “I haven’t had anybody support me yet outside of my coaches and my family. No one has really lent a helping hand in this journey.”
Martin added that while his parents have been instrumental in supporting his career, he has become increasingly conscious of relying on them financially as an adult. With the demands of balancing work and athletics becoming more challenging, the grant offers both practical relief and renewed encouragement.
“Things have been getting tough lately, but I do intend on sticking with it for the long haul, so this will definitely help me get my feet on the ground,” Martin said.
For Davis Bove, the grant represents a continuation of the connection he developed with Cal Poly and its alumni during his collegiate career. Although Cal Poly was not originally on his radar school, the relationships he built there became an important part of his journey toward professional running.
“I definitely feel honored to be recognized by the alumni,” Davis said. “It’s really honoring and exciting and valuable to be a part of that network. I know they all love running, and in some sense, every next step that I take, hopefully they feel like I’m taking them with me, whatever those results or achievements may be.”
Davis' time at Cal Poly helped prepare him for the expectations and responsibilities of professional athletics. After transferring from Louisiana State University (LSU), where he earned All-American honors in the indoor mile, Davis continued to establish himself as one of the nation's top collegiate distance runners. At Cal Poly, he won the 2023 Big West Cross Country Championships and was named Big West Men's Cross Country Athlete of the Year, helping lead the Mustangs to a conference team title. In 2024, he won the Big West men's 1500 meter title, qualified for the NCAA Cross Country Championships and competed in the men's 1500 meters at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials.
Beyond competition, Davis completed a master's degree in business analytics at Cal Poly while navigating the academic and athletic demands of graduate school. He credits the program's expectations, the support of his teammates and the strength of its alumni network with helping him develop the independence and discipline necessary for the next stage of his career.
“I got a lot better at running, and I don’t think I would have had the same opportunities professionally if it weren’t for the alumni who invested in having a good distance program at Cal Poly and the connections that came with it,” Davis said. “If it wasn’t for Cal Poly, I genuinely don’t know if I would have had the opportunities to run professionally.”
As he continues to pursue his professional goals, Davis is managing the physical and financial demands of training at altitude, where recovery can be more challenging. Treatment, bloodwork, proper nutrition and specialized training equipment are among the expenses that can help an athlete stay healthy and train consistently.
For Davis, the grant will help cover those performance-related needs while also providing relief from the everyday costs of living.
“This grant will honestly help with everyday expenses, making sure I’m not worrying about my groceries and things like that,” Davis said.
The additional support could also help Davis avoid taking on another job to cover his expenses, allowing him to dedicate more time and energy to running.
“It’s going to help me to not have to get another job so I can afford to put all of my interest in running,” Davis said. “It’s just a compounding effect. A little bit does go a long way in feeling a little bit better about being at a place where I don’t have to worry about getting the things that I need.”
For all three athletes, the Adopt an Athlete program reflects the lasting connection between Cal Poly alumni and the next chapter of their athletic journeys. By providing direct support, alumni donors are helping athletes navigate the financial realities of professional track and field while continuing to pursue ambitious goals on the national and international stage.
The USATF Foundation’s Adopt an Athlete program is one of the ways supporters can make a direct impact on elite track and field athletes. Contributions help provide essential resources as athletes train, travel, compete and work toward their goals.
To learn more about the USATF Foundation’s Adopt an Athlete program and how you can support an athlete, visit usatffoundation.org.