Success runs in Olivia Arizin's family, and so does she

James Williams was a college track coach for 15 years.

He spent time at Cabrini, West Chester, Gwynedd Mercy, and last coached at Cheyney University in 2015.

But it wasn't until late February, when Williams became the head track and field coach at Cardinal O'Hara, that he had seen a talent in the 800 meters like senior Olivia Arizin, last year's PIAA state champion.

"It was like, 'Ok, is this high school?' You watch her move. You watch her run on the track, and it was no different from what I was used to," Williams said, referring to his college runners. "To have a high school kid as the fastest you've ever coached at that distance is pretty cool."

Arizin is the granddaughter of Hall of Fame basketball player Paul Arizin, who played at Villanova and then for the Philadelphia Warriors. Her father, Chris, played basketball at Drexel.

The senior said she is often asked at meets if she is related to Paul Arizin. Her grandfather, who died in 2006, is a constant motivation for her.

"The thing that sticks out about him is he didn't make his high school basketball team. He never played. He didn't go to college for basketball," Arizin said. "He just stuck with the sport. . . . I just use him as an inspiration if I'm ever having a bad race or having a bad day."

Growing up, Arizin was a multi-sport athlete. She played lacrosse, field hockey, soccer, and volleyball. She played basketball until she got to high school when her focus zeroed in on track.

Arizin also competes in the 400, the mile and the 4x400 relay, in which the Lions finished 11th at states last year. But her top event has been the 800 since she started running track in fifth grade on the St. Mary Magdalen CYO team.

"I just really always loved it," Arizin said. "I just feel like it's the perfect distance for me."

During her freshman year, Arizin was just "having fun" with track. Her mind set changed as a sophomore. She began to write down goals and put them on her wall. The approach led to a third-place finish at states. Last year, she broke through and won states in Class 3A with a time of 2 minutes, 6.8 seconds.

"I've coached over 10 years, and I only know two other girls in the area that have run that type of time," former Cardinal O'Hara coach John McShay said.

Arizin will run at Georgetown next year. She also took visits to Notre Dame, Villanova, Oregon and North Carolina.

"If she listens to her [college] coaches, learns the strategy and follows that, she is going to be an elite runner," McShay said.

Williams had no idea what kind of talent he had inherited when he accepted the O'Hara coaching job. Having been away from coaching for about a year and a half he had not paid attention to the top runners in the high school ranks.

He got an email from a former colleague about a talented runner in the 800. She stuck out in his first meeting with the team.

"I noticed there was one kid that was listening to every word that I said," Williams said.

To help Arizin prepare for the next level, Williams decreased the number of races she runs this year. He has put a greater focus on her training. During some events this spring, Arizin has trained while her team competed in meets.

"When you know you're looking at a kid that is going to run deep into June, you're not going to run them crazy in April," Williams said.

Arizin won the 800 at the Delaware County championships earlier this month in 2:12.28, and she was part of the 4x400 relay that was second at the Penn Relays in 4:00.61. Her personal goal for this season is to finish an 800 race under 2:06. She will try to do that by improving her race strategy.

She won the outdoor championship in the 800 last season by trailing behind the leader for most of the race and relying on her kick for the last 200 meters. At this year's indoor state championships, Arizin tried to sprint out to the lead but lost steam and was caught from behind in the last 20 meters to finish second.

The PIAA state outdoor track and field finals are scheduled for May 27. Chanelle Price of Easton High School set the PIAA state Class 3A 800 record of 2:02.90 in 2008.

"I'm learning more about myself as a runner and learning more about how to race, whether to go out faster or slower," Arizin said. "Workout-wise just doing some tougher workouts and focus on speed. I think just basically racing and getting my strategy better could help me reach a lot faster time than 2:06."

omccue@phillynews.com