University of Illinois
Brissman-Lundeen Invitational
Freshman Angela Bizzarri Takes Crown in Collegiate Debut
September 28, 2006 | Women's Cross Country
Sept. 22, 2006
CHAMPAIGN, Ill - Highly-recruited freshman Angela Bizzarri took the individual title of the 6,000-meter Brissman-Lundeen Invite Friday night at Credit Island near Davenport, Iowa. In the first race of her collegiate career, Bizzarri led the Illini to the team crown, crossing the finish line at 20:54, only four seconds behind the Illinois 6K freshmen record set by Katie Engel at the 2005 NCAA Championships.
"Bizzarri looked really strong today," head coach Karen Harvey said. "She is a really talented runner and just went after it. Overall, the race served its purpose as a workout. We came out too fast like I thought we would, especially because Olivet Nazarene's 2005 Division II national champ came strong out of the gates, but then we settled down and ran together for the majority of the race. This race really shows the potential of this team because no one ran at 100 percent."
The Orange and Blue swept the top four finishes, as senior Stephanie Simms came in second and freshmen Stephanie Baliga crossed in third. Senior Cassie Hunt closed the Illini sweep, finishing fourth with a time of 21:20.
"Hunt's finish was impressive considering she is still five weeks behind the rest of the team in training," Harvey said. "She fell behind because of her participation in the NCAA and US National competitions for the steeplechase, but she'll be back up there in no time."
Also scoring for the Illini were sophomore Maggie Carroll, who finished six after battling sickness this week, freshmen Shannon Phelan, and sophomore Katie Engel, who also missed a week's training due to a shin injury. These finishes allowed the Illini to tally a mere 16 points to take the team title by almost 60 points over their nearest competitor, Olivet Nazarene (75). Thirty-three schools and 376 individuals competed in the invitational.
The Fighting Illini will be in racing action again next Friday, Sept. 29, as they travel to South Bend, Ind. to compete in the Notre Dame Invite.
Illini Results: 1) Angela Bizzarri (1) 20:54 2) Stephanie Simms (2) 21:06 3) Stephanie Baliga (3) 21:09 4) Cassie Hunt (4) 21:20 5) Maggie Carroll (6) 21:36 6) Shannon Phelan (8) 21:45 7) Katie Engel (10) 21:52 8) Liz Mengyan (15) 22:10 9) Theresa Brokaw (31) 23:15
