University of Illinois
Pre-Nationals
Bizzarri Shatters 6K Freshman Record
October 14, 2006 | Women's Cross Country
Oct. 14, 2006
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Freshman Angela Bizzarri crushed the 6K freshman record by almost 25 seconds with a 20:26 performance, finishing eighth overall and leading the Fighting Illini women's cross country team to a fifth-place finish in their white race and seventh overall at Saturday's Pre-National competition held in Terre Haute, Ind.
The previous 6K record of 20:50 was set by Katie Engel at the 2005 National Championships. Bizzarri was the second true freshmen to cross the finish line at Pre-Nationals, behind Wisconsin's Hanna Grinaker, who finished fifth.
"Angela went out really smart and worked her way up there during the race," head coach Karen Harvey said. "She's only going to keep getting better, and I'm really pleased with her race today."
Crossing second for Illinois and 28th overall was senior Stephanie Simms with a time of 20:51. Freshman Stephanie Baliga finished third for the Illini and 48th overall with 21:10, a performance that ties her 6K personal best. Senior Cassie Hunt and junior Maggie Carroll, finishing 58th and 77th , respectively, rounded out the top five for the Orange and Blue. The Illini accumulated 219 team points in their fifth-place finish. No. 5 North Carolina State won the white race, but No.1 Stanford took the overall Pre-National title with 45 points.
"This was a huge race for us," Harvey said. "We did really well today, and it was an improvement from the last race. But we need everyone out there pushing us toward the front. We need to get faster throughout our top five. Today showed our depth, but now we need our sixth and seventh runners right up there with those top five, pushing them to the front."
Freshman Shannon Phelan and Sophomore Liz Mengyan also competed Saturday in the women's open race following the team competition. Running together throughout the majority of the race, Phelan and Mengyan finished less than a second apart in 12th and 14th, respectively.
The Fighting Illini will be in racing action again on Oct. 29 in Bloomington, Ind., where they will compete in the 2006 Big Ten Championships.
Illini Results: 1. Angela Bizzarri(8) 20:26 2. Stephanie Simms(28) 20:52 3. Stephanie Baliga(48) 21:10 4. Cassie Hunt(58) 21:20 5. Maggie Carroll(77) 21:34 6. Rachel Hernandez(96) 21:42 7. Theresa Brokaw(158) 22:15
