University of Illinois
NCAA Championships
Illini Finish 8th at Nationals
November 20, 2006 | Women's Cross Country
Nov. 20, 2006
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - The Fighting Illini women's cross country team captured eighth-place at the 2006 NCAA National Cross Country Championship hosted by Indiana State University. The finish is the second-best in program history behind their fifth-place finish in 2005. The Orange and Blue tallied 304 points in the race, missing sixth place by a mere four points, in their third-consecutive NCAA Championship appearance.
Freshman Angela Bizzarri was the first Illini and fourth freshman to cross the line in 24th, a finish that also allowed her to garner All-America honors. Senior Cassie Hunt, the second scorer for Illinois in 33rd, missed the same honors by three spots. Freshman Stephanie Baliga and senior Stephanie Simms were the third and fourth finishers for Illinois in 52nd and 60th, respectively. Sophomore Maggie Carroll, who finished in 135th, rounded out the Illini's top five.
"I'm very proud of our top four runners," head coach Karen Harvey said. "They ran awesome. Bizzarri was the fourth freshman to finish and Baliga was the ninth. Simms also had a solid race. Hunt finally had the race I knew she was capable of. She put an entire race together, and it was great to see it here in Indiana, her home state, as her final collegiate race in the hardest of conditions."
The LaVern Gibson Championship Course proved to be a challenge for the runners, as the course was muddy with pools of standing water on the running paths.
"If we have learned anything, it's that we need to be strong throughout the entire lineup, instead of just the top few," Harvey said. "We just didn't see that today. This race is bittersweet. We're excited about placing eighth at Nationals and having a place on that podium, but it's disappointing to think about what might have been."
The women of Stanford captured their fourth national title, three of which have come in the past four years. All six participating Big Ten teams finished in the top 20, with Michigan finishing third, Wisconsin fourth, Illinois eighth, Minnesota 11th, Michigan State 12th and Iowa 17th. Sally Kipyego, a Texas Tech sophomore, earned the individual national crown by a commanding 25 second interval.
Complete NCAA Cross Country Championship results can be found at http://www.indstate.edu/athletics/cross/championship/2006ncaa.html.
Illini Results: 1) Angela Bizzarri (24) 21:18 2) Cassie Hunt (33) 21:31 3) Stephanie Baliga (52) 21:46 4) Stephanie Simms (60) 21:54 5) Maggie Carroll (135) 22:40 6) Shannon Phelan (153) 22:55 7) Rachel Hernandez (157) 22:56
Team Results: 1) Stanford (195) 2) Colorado (223) 3) Michigan (233) 4) Wisconsin (262) 5) Arkansas (286) 6) Texas Tech (300) 7) Providence (301) 8) Illinois (304) 9) UC Santa Barbara (316) 10) Duke (320)
