Nov. 23, 2009

Team Results
Individual Results
Rasmussen FloTrack Interview
Bizzarri FloTrack Interview
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TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Senior Angela Bizzarri won the 2009 NCAA Cross Country national title on Monday at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course, smashing her previous personal-best set at last year's NCAA Championships by 13 seconds and finishing the 6K race with a time of 19:46. This marks the second national title for Bizzarri in less than six months, after capturing the 5,000m title at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in June. Bizzarri becomes the first Illinois women's cross country runner to ever win the NCAA cross country title, and the first Illini cross country champion since Craig Virgin took home the title in 1975.

"This was my last cross country race, and it was a perfect way to end it," Bizzarri said. "I didn't want to start out the race too fast because I prefer going out more even. But I still wanted to keep in close contact with the lead group, and I felt like I did a good job with that. Eventually with the last two or three kilometers, the front of the pack started coming back to me and I was able to capitalize on that, which worked out to my advantage. It was a great race, and I am so excited."

Colorado senior Jenny Barringer was favored to win the race and was neck and neck with Florida State senior Susan Kuijken after two kilometers. The two were far ahead of the rest of the pack and had a five second lead on Bizzarri. After four kilometers, Kuijken had an impressive 13-second lead over Bizzarri, Washington sophomore Kendra Schaaf and Villanova sophomore Sheila Reid. Favorite Barringer had faded from the front of the pack by this time after collapsing midway through the race and ended up placing 163rd.

Making the final turn with about 500 meters remaining, Bizzarri and Schaaf went by Kuijken and began the long sprint home. With 100 meters left to go, Bizzarri used her signature kick to surpass Schaaf and capture the victory.

"I did not see anyone around me, and I had no clue how far back they were," Bizzarri said. "I was kind of shocked by that time because that's when I realized that I was going to win. Even during the last 600m, I was shocked that I even had a chance to win. I knew before the race that I had the ability to win, but for it to be real is just amazing to me. For things to actually work out the way you want to, the way you've been training for and the way you've worked so hard for just doesn't always happen that way, so you just have to really embrace the times that it does."

Bizzarri ended up winning the race by almost five seconds over Schaaf and garnered All-America honors for the fourth straight year in cross country. The Mason, Ohio, native now has a total of eight All-America honors during her collegiate career, with the other four earned from track.

"For Angela to be the national champion in cross country, it's just unbelievable," cross country coach Jeremy Rasmussen said. "She followed her plan for the race perfectly. Her race at Pre-Nationals really helped her out today because she knew she could come back from a huge gap. For her to be able to not only do that today, but also win by five seconds is awesome."

The rest of the Illini also had strong performances on the day. Illinois came into the championships ranked 16th in the country and finished the race with a team total of 365 points to place 12th. Sophomore Kristin Sutherland ran the race in 20:45.9 to finish in 41st place, which was a huge improvement over last year's 109th place finish at Nationals. Senior Elizabeth Boyle concluded her college cross country career with a strong 6K time 21:08.1 to come in 72nd. Junior Chantelle Groenewoud (155th, 21:41.8) and redshirt sophomore Danelle Woods (178th, 21:53.2) also counted for the Orange and Blue.

"We finished 12th, but pretty much everyone ran near their personal-best," Rasmussen said. "We wanted to be in the top 10 and I thought we had a good shot at doing it, but to come in to the National Championships and run at your personal-best is exactly what you need to do. That's what we talk about all year long, so we can't walk away disappointed. There's no shame in being 12th in the nation and having a national champion on your team."

Villanova took home the team title with 86 points. Four of the top five finishers for the Wildcats placed in the top 25 to earn All-America honors. Florida State came in second with 133 points, while defending champion Washington took home third with 188 points.

Individual Results:
1. Angela Bizzarri 19:46.8
41. Kristin Sutherland 20:45.9
72. Elizabeth Boyle 21:08.1
155. Chantelle Groenewoud 21:41.8
178. Danelle Woods 21:53.2
207. Jamie Brusa 22:08.3
223. Ashley Thompson 22:27.8

Team Results (Top 15):
1. Villanova 86
2. Florida State 133
3. Washington 188
4. Texas Tech 191
5. Princeton 251
6. West Virginia 259
7. Florida 260
8. Duke 272
9. Oregon 276
10. Minnesota 310
11. Providence 349
12. ILLINOIS 365
13. New Mexico 368
14. Penn State 375
15. Virginia 391