Approximately 4.14 million people participate in Track and Field. While the sport may be behind the ranks of other sports in regards to popularity, Track and Field have introduced the world to many trailblazing athletes that have been considered some of the greatest athletes of all time such as Usain Bolt, Alyson Felix, and many others. Tori Ortiz finds herself running the same race to legacy along with the greats. Ortiz began running in fifth grade, where she got her first taste of competition. Tori would find herself falling in love with track and field by the time her sophomore year of high school arrived. Ortiz had a successful high school career at Batavia High School as she left a memorable legacy on and off the track field. As a captain in both her junior and senior seasons, Tori qualified for the 2018 IHSA Class 3A State Finals in both the 4x100 relay and 4x200 relay, where she finished seventh in the 4x100 relay and tenth in the 100-meter at the 2018 IHSA Class 3A State Championships. Tori also set seven records during her senior year, held multiple records including the 4x100 meter relay with a time of 48.06, 100-meter dash with a time of 12.06, 4x200 meter relay with a time of 1:43.03, and helped lead the track team to Upper Eight Conference Championships in 2015, 2017, and 2018. Along with those accomplishments on the track, Ortiz succeeded in the classroom as she was a member of the National Technology Honor Society and was an honor roll student. 

Ortiz began her collegiate career at Illinois State of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC). During her first year at Illinois State, Tori participated in both Indoor and Outdoor track as she established herself as one of the top runners in the conference. Ortiz made her Indoor Track debut at the Jimmy Grant Invitational, where she competed and finished in the Top 10 in both the 300 (eighth with a time of 40.19) and 4x400 (fourth with 3:54.01) events. From there, Tori continued to rise to the occasion as she dominated in the next tournament at the Coughlan-Malloy Cup as she placed first in the 4x400 meter relay team with a combined time of 3:52.62 and third in the 200 with a time of 25.57. Ortiz continued her winning streak at the Illini Invitational as she placed third in the 200-meter dash with 25.71 seconds and eighth in the 60 with a time of 7.90 seconds. Tori was part of the 4x400-meter relay team that was placed third at the Meyo Invitational with a time of 3:45.91.  At the Music City Challenge, Tori posted a personal best in the 400-meter dash with a time of 58.05 seconds and continued the streak at the MVC Indoor Championship with another personal best in the 60-meter dash preliminaries with a time of 7.66 seconds, where she also posted points in the and finished in the Top 8 in both the 60-meter dash (finished seventh) and the 200-meter dash (placed eighth). Ortiz continues to find her stride in the Outdoor Track as she opened the season with a personal best with a time of 12.21 seconds in the 100-meter dash at the Ole Miss Classic. At the Illinois State Redbird Invitational, Tori won every event that she participated including the 200-meter dash with a personal best time of 24.70 seconds, the 100-meter dash, and both the 4x100 and the 4x400-meter relay. Ortiz continued her winning streak at the next few tournaments including the Pacesetter Sports Invitational, Wisconsin Alumni Classic, and MVC Championship; where she placed in the Top Ten. At the Pacesetter Sports Invitational, Tori placed first in the 4x400, third in the 200-meter dash, and second in both the 100-meter dash and the 4x100. Tori showed why she is a dominant force to be reckoned with as she was part of the 4x100-relay team that placed second with a combined time of 47.06 seconds, earned All-MVC honors as she was a member of the 4x100-relay team that was placed third, and was named the 2019 MVC Champion Outdoor Champion in the 4x400-meter relay. In her last year as a member of the Illinois State in the 2019-20 season, Tori competed in the Indoor Track event as she won every event in three out of the five meets: EIU Early Bird, EIU Friday Night Special, and Coughlan-Malloy Cup and recorded a personal-best of 24.70 seconds at the Meyo Invitational, which led her to secure MVC Female Track Athlete of the Week and 2020 MVC Scholar-Athlete. Ortiz’s sophomore campaign would be cut short for her with Outdoor Track as the season would be canceled due to COVID-19. 

Tori would continue her Track & Field athlete career as she transferred to Oklahoma State University to begin her junior year. In the 2021 season for Indoor Track, Ortiz made sure to dominate her debut in the Big 12 as she took command in competing in both the 600 yards and the 4x400-meter relay at the Texas Tech Invitational, where she landed in the top ten in both events and recorded a personal best at the Texas Tech Shootout with a time of 1:24.05 in the 600 yards event. Ortiz’s dominance on the track would earn All-Big 12 honors for her contribution to the Cowgirl 4x400-meter relay at the Big 12 Conference Championships, where she finished fourth in the event. Tori would make her Big 12 outdoor track debut at Texas Relays where she competed in the 4x100-meter relay where she and her unit placed tenth; but, Ortiz made sure to bounce back at both Arkansas Twilight and the Big 12 Championships as she finished seventh in the 400 meters and was part of the All-Big 12 4x400 relay team that finished fifth at the Big 12 Championships. Ortiz also helped Oklahoma State’s Women’s 4x400-meter relay team secure a spot at the NCAA Championship in the 4x400-meter relay title, where they finished eleventh at the NCAA West Preliminaries Championships. The 2021 Track & Field season helped Tori secure All-Big 12 honors in both Indoor and Outdoor Track.  The 2022 Track & Field Season would be the one that demonstrated Ortiz’s competitive spirit. In the Indoor Track & Field season, Tori primarily competed in six meets, mostly in the 400 meters and 600 yards events. Ortiz helped the Cowgirl 4x400-meter relay team break the school record with a time of 3:37.06 at the Razorback Invitational as well as secure an event victory at the Arkansas Qualifier. At the Big 12 Championships, Tori garnered her second straight indoor All-Big 12 honors and set a personal-best time that currently ranks fourth in the program history with a time of 1:21:38. Ortiz continued her domination on the field for the 2022 Outdoor Track season as she appeared in multiple meets for the Cowgirls in the 200 meters, 400 meters, and 4x400 relays. The dominance continued in the outdoor track for Tori as she led the 4x400 meter relay team to the preliminaries and placed fourth in the event at the Texas Relays. Both the Drake Relays and the Big 12 Championships continued to build Ortiz’s legacy as one of the best runners in Oklahoma State as she finished in the top four in the 400 meters (placed fourth with a time of 3:41.73) and Sprint Medley Relays (placed third with 3:54.73) and earned another round of All-Big 12 honors for the Outdoor Track season after leading the Cowgirls 4x400 to the top four with a time of 3:37.78. With the upcoming season approaching, Tori aims to make her graduate season a memorable one for the ages.

Since high school, student-athletes had to learn quickly about balancing the books and extracurricular activities, specifically their sport. From time management to meeting deadlines, Tori found that having a schedule made it easier to manage sports, academics, and even content creation. “I have a calendar and a strict daily schedule that I stick to,” Ortiz describes. Tori’s planned schedule motivates her to start the day right and always make sure to still have plenty of time for herself. “As an athlete and student, that is extremely important,” Ortiz exclaims. Tori is no stranger to the balance of academics and athletics as she was named First Team Academic All-Big 12 Team. Currently, Ortiz is majoring in Exercise Science/Strength and Conditioning with a Nursing prerequisite as she sees the major being applied to sports every day through athletes' training. Along with her Exercise Science major, Tori also obtains her CNA, where she sees the certification being applied to the sport through understanding the necessities the athletes need and how athletes like herself operate.  

Ortiz sees herself being a part of the Track & Field world in the future as she aims to represent Puerto Rico on the world stage. “My main goal is to represent Puerto Rico on the world stage and whatever else comes with that, I will be blessed for,” Tori describes. Whether it’s coaching, starting a track club, or even creating content, Ortiz plans to keep track as part of her future career and beyond. As Track and Field continue to increase in participation, especially for the younger generation; Ortiz hopes to see the sport getting the attention and support it deserves. “I think Track is very underrated,” Tori states. “But, it is on the rise.”

For Tori, family is important. Ortiz cites her family as her role model where she describes each member who holds their own unique and amazing qualities that motivate her to be a better her each day. “I use them for motivation daily to be the best version of myself,” Tori states. “They also serve as a reminder of how grateful I am to be here.” Allyson Felix is considered one of the greatest athletes of all time. With 22 gold medals, 6 silver medals, 4 bronze medals, and many more accolades under her belt, Felix is recognized as the most decorated woman and American athlete in both Track and Field history and Olympic Track and Field history. Tori views Felix as someone who she always looked up to in the sport of Track. “She (Felix) is genuinely one of the greatest of all time,” Ortiz states. “She (Allyson) gives back a lot that has been given to her.” Like Allyson, Tori is a pioneer that’s destined to make history. 

When you want something, you are going to work hard for it. Tori advises two things to those that want to take their talents to the next level: work hard and believe in yourself. “The times that you are too tired or want to give up, are the times that you need to believe in yourself and push yourself the most,” Ortiz states. Tori emphasizes the importance of believing in yourself, your work, and always taking care of yourself to grow. “When all the pieces fall into place, things work out well,” Ortiz states. “You must understand that no road you take will ever be easy.”

If there was a picture to describe the definition of motivation, Tori would be the one to best describe the word. From finding her stride on the track to changing history, Ortiz explains confidently why her story stands out. “I bet on myself and I believed in myself!” exclaims Ortiz. “When I was going to college, I wanted to be a full-ride DI (Division I) athlete at a big school and that did not happen. When I finally put all dedication solely on Track instead of softball, I got injured and missed most of the outdoor season during junior year.” While Ortiz didn’t have many offers in senior year, she worked extra hard and would end up walking on for the Illinois State’s Track team. “I worked extremely hard and ended up receiving a small scholarship after my first year there (Illinois State), but I still was not happy,” Ortiz states. While sophomore year for Ortiz’s outdoor track and field season was canceled due to COVID, it gave her more time to focus on building her social media knowing the NIL was arriving soon. “At this time, I had less than 10,000 followers on Tik Tok and less than 5,000 on Instagram,” Ortiz states. “I transferred to Oklahoma State at the beginning of my Junior year and unfortunately got injured again during the outdoor season, so I missed out on some meets.  Senior year came around and I was not in the best head space. I was going through a lot personally that I questioned my character and mental, but still found ways to push through.”  Even though Ortiz did not end the track season in the ways she wanted, she soon realized she grew a lot more than just an athlete, but as a person.  In July 2021, the NCAA approved the NIL which allowed student-athletes to be compensated for their name, image, and likeness (NIL). This moment in history would change the lives of all student-athletes including Tori. This past March, Ortiz signed with Raymond Representation, which she described as one of the greatest blessings in her life, and secured one of the biggest NIL deals. “My first NIL deals with Raymond Representation with Gatorade and that’s when I knew how powerful prayers can be,” Tori describes. “On top of being a student-athlete with about 700,000 followers across all my social media and working with many companies for NIL, I am now what some can consider a social media influencer.” With the upcoming season around the corner, Tori feels great about both the season and what the future holds for her. “I’m excited about everything and I know what I need to do to continue to be on the rise,” Tori exclaims.  “I'm thankful for everything in my life and I cannot wait to give back to those who gave to me, and what the future holds.”

To learn more about Tori and her journey, be sure to follow her on Instagram: tortiz.29