Texas Woodlands graduate Bizer named captain of U.S. U20 national team

Meya Bizer’s already successful athletic career has reached yet another peak.

Just a day removed from her MVP performance last month at the Women’s National Collegiate All-Star Championship, Bizer was named captain of the United States national team’s U20 rugby squad.

Next week, The Woodlands High School graduate will lead her teammates into camp at the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, N.Y.

“I was so excited because that’s something that I’ve been working for because it is such an honor,” Bizer said.

Bizer is also a place kicker for the football team at the University of Saint Mary in Leavenworth, Kan., and played goalkeeper for the Spires’ soccer team as a freshman last season.

Before graduating high school last year, the 5-foot-7, 160-pound Bizer played football for three years while also competing in lacrosse, soccer and track.

It was during her junior year that she joined the Woodlands Youth Rugby Club.

“I actually didn’t even know we had a team,” Bizer said. “It took one of my lacrosse teammates forever to convince me to come out. But I did, and I loved it.”

“Hitting people and getting hit doesn’t sound fun, so I don’t know why I like it. But when you’re playing, it’s so much fun.”

Bizer plays outside center and fullback, and has excelled since her first national team tryout.

At a U17 training camp in November 2010, she impressed the coaches enough to receive an invitation to try out for the U20 team in March 2011.

Two months after that, Bizer got to train at a developmental camp with the sevens team in Chula Vista, Calif. She was recently invited to another sevens camp in August.

Bizer was named Most Valuable Player of the collegiate tournament, during which the U20 team dominated regional all-star squads.

Her crowning moment came when she scored 21 points in a 56-0 title game victory over the West Mustangs on June 16. Most of Bizer’s points came via converted penalty kicks, but she also intercepted the ball and ran 70 meters for a try.

A day later, U20 coach Danielle Miller called Bizer to tell her she’d been named captain of the national team.

It was a long way from November and that first national team tryout invite, which came after Bizer’s mother made a phone call to former national team coach Bryn Chivers seeking a college scholarship for her daughter.

“My parents weren’t the biggest fans of me playing at first, but since then they’ve been so supportive,” Bizer said.

In addition to her parents, older sister and two younger brothers — who both pay football — Bizer’s support system includes her three best friends. She met Jordan Lipsey, Cali Bollier and Emily Blount in physics class during her junior year of high school.

“Besides my parents and family, they’re my biggest supporters,” Bizer said. “I think they’ll be my best friends for life.”

She has another opportunity to make them proud at the Lake Placid camp, which will prepare Bizer for next year’s biennial Nations Cup. She played in last year’s event, during which the United States finished second to powerhouse England.

It will also provide another chance for Bizer to display her talent on a national stage, where she seems to shine brightest.

Bizer ended up at Saint Mary after she was spotted at a football showcase event for unsigned high school seniors. There were 500 student-athletes on hand, and Bizer was the only girl.

She said two coaches contacted her, but only one was serious: the Spires’ Lance Hinson.

“He seemed way more understanding and willing to make it work,” Bizer said.

Bizer was redshirted last season, but Saint Mary ended up 7-4 overall and second in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference. The Spires’ kicker graduated, and Bizer said she will start in the fall.

The former Highlander also helped Saint Mary on the soccer pitch.

After the Spires’ top two goalkeepers suffered season-ending shoulder and knee injuries, respectively, Bizer was asked to fill in.

She had played the game since she was 3 years old, but on the other end of the field as a forward. She ended up leading the KCAC with 8.9 saves per game and finished fifth in the league with a 2.1 goals against average.

Bizer said the two different sports’ practices help her when it comes to rugby. Football workouts consist of lifting weights and short conditioning sprints while soccer practices include longer training runs.

“It’s the best of both worlds,” Bizer said. “I think the crossover really helps.”