University of Illinois
Big Ten Championships
Bizzarri Takes Fifth at Big Ten Championships
October 29, 2006 | Women's Cross Country
Oct. 29, 2006
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Illinois Freshman Angela Bizzarri claimed an individual fifth-place finish as the second true freshman to cross the finish line in Sunday's Big Ten Cross Country Championships held at the Indiana Cross Country Course in Bloomington, Ind. The Orange and Blue accumulated 107 team points in their fifth-place team finish, only 26 points out of second place.
Bizzarri's finish is the best ever recorded for an Illinois freshman at the Big Ten Championships in program history. She also garnered 1st Team All-Big Ten accolades.
As the second and third scorers for the Illini, senior Stephanie Simms and freshman Stephanie Baliga crossed the finish line together with a time of 21:24, taking 20th and 21st, respectively. Senior Cassie Hunt finished just on their heels in 23rd with 21:39. Junior Maggie Carroll was the fifth scorer for Illinois with her finish in 38th. Freshman Shannon Phelan and Junior Rachel Hernandez rounded out the Illini's top seven, finishing in 39th and 43rd, respectively.
"Freshmen Bizzarri and Baliga ran really well today," head coach Karen Harvey said. "I'm glad they showed up and put the effort forth. The rest of the team has to learn from today. Kevin [Sullivan] and I were disappointed by the upperclassmen. They should have known what to expect coming into the race. Our best efforts came from our freshmen. This team has the potential to be so good, but they need to pull it together."
Michigan captured its fifth consecutive Big Ten title and eighth overall with 52 points. Michigan Junior Erin Webster claimed the Big Ten individual crown while setting a new 6K championship record time of 20:23 by ten seconds. Wisconsin's Hanna Grinaker finished third as the first freshman to cross the line and led the Badgers to a second-place team finish of 91 points. Minnesota slipped into third one point behind Wisconsin, while Michigan State and Illinois rounded out the top five teams.
The Fighting Illini will have two weeks to rally themselves together before the 2006 NCAA Midwest Regionals on Nov. 11. The regional race will be hosted by the University of Minnesota at the Les Bolstad University Golf Course in St. Paul, Minn.
Illini Results: 1) Angela Bizzarri (5) 20:49 2) Stephanie Simms (20) 21:24 3) Stephanie Baliga (21) 21:24 4) Cassie Hunt (23) 21:39 5) Maggie Carroll (38) 22:18 6) Shannon Phelan (39) 22:19 7) Rachel Hernandez (43) 22:35Team Results: 1) Michigan (52) 2) Wisconsin (91) 3) Minnesota (92) 4) Michigan State (101) 5) Illinois (107)
