Dec. 15, 2009
The Illinois women's cross country team started off the 2009 season with the goal of continuing the program's streak of excellence. That goal was accomplished when the team ended up 12th in the nation, and senior Angela Bizzarri won the NCAA National Championship title. The Illini remained steady throughout the season, as many of the runners achieved personal-best times, and the Orange and Blue were a force to compete with at every meet they ran in.
"It was a very challenging season, but a very successful season," women's cross country coach Jeremy Rasmussen said. "Going into the season, we had certain goals and aspirations to meet and try to get to. We had things we had to battle through and make adjustments for and things we had to really work through.
"This year, we really learned a lot because we had to deal with some things that we hadn't had to deal with in the past. I think it made us a stronger group and a better group. To me, as a coach, this kind of season is a little more rewarding."
The season began in the beginning of September at the annual Illini Challenge at the UI Arboretum in Urbana. While many of the team's top runners sat out for this meet, six of the Illini freshmen got to compete in the first meet of their collegiate careers. It was also at this meet that junior Ashley Thompson emerged as a top runner that the Illini would count on for the more important meets later on in the season. Thompson improved by one minute and five seconds over her time at this meet in 2008, and was third overall with a 4K time of 14:39.57.
A week later, the top runners for the Orange and Blue headed out to University Park, Pa., for the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational. The meet was of high importance for the Illini because this was the site of the 2009 Big Ten Championships, which would be held in November. Illinois finished third out of 10 teams, but more importantly got a feel for the unfamiliar course, which helped them in preparing for success at the Big Ten Championships.
The other runners for the Illini competed at the Bradley Open in Peoria that same weekend. Meghan Murphy finished first for the Illini and 10th overall at the meet. Murphy was starting to stand out among the crop of freshmen. She continued to improve on her times at every meet throughout the season and ended up being the sole freshman on the Big Ten squad for the Illini.
At the beginning of October, the team was ranked No. 10 in the nation and set out to Madison, Wis., to compete at the Wisconsin Inter-Regional. The Illini faced heavy competition with seven nationally ranked squads in the field, but ended up taking an impressive third place at the meet. Bizzarri finished the 5K race in 17:04 to place second and was only three seconds behind the leader. Sophomore Kristin Sutherland made her season debut at the meet and finished in sixth place with a personal-best 5K time of 17:22.
The Pre-National Invitational was a preview of the national meet, with a total of 37 teams in the field and 10 of them being ranked in the top-30 in the nation. Illinois came into the meet ranked No. 18 and were out to prove that they were better than their ranking. Senior standout Bizzarri ran to first place in the White Race with a 6K time of 20:27.8 to beat out the 246 other runners. The meet marked the first race Bizzarri had won since her freshman season, and she earned Big Ten Runner of the Week honors for her performance. Sutherland, senior Elizabeth Boyle, junior Jamie Brusa, and Thompson all had 6K personal-bests at the meet. The Orange and Blue finished in fifth place and showed that they were one of the top teams in the nation.
The following week, Illinois returned home for the Illini Open. Redshirt sophomore Danelle Woods put on her best performance of the season with a first-place finish. The rest of the squad also ran well and eight Illini finished in the top 10. The Illini Open marked the first team title of the season and Illinois won the race with a perfect 15 points.
On Nov. 1, the team returned to University Park, Pa., but this time instead of trying to get comfortable with the course, they were trying to bring home a Big Ten Championship. The No. 13-ranked squad had a remarkable four runners in the top-13, but ended up coming in second to Minnesota by a mere six points. Bizzarri finished in second place, while Sutherland came in seventh, as both runners earned first-team All-Big Ten honors. Boyle and Chantelle Groenewoud finished 11th and 13th, respectively, to garner second-team All-Big Ten honors. Thompson also scored for the Illini and had a personal-best 6K time to finish 44th.
At the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships, the Illini finished in second to receive an automatic bid to the NCAA National Championships. Bizzarri crossed the finish line first to become the NCAA Midwest Regional Champion and earned All-Region honors for the fourth year in a row. Three other Illini, Sutherland (4th, 20:44.1), Boyle (12th, 21:12.5) and Groenewoud (23rd, 21:34.2), placed in the top 25 to earn All-Region honors.
Bizzarri took home the elusive Regional crown after she had finished in second place for the previous three years at the meet. Because of her outstanding performance at the Championships and for her strong season overall, the senior was named the NCAA Midwest Regional Athlete of the Year.
A week later, the Illini headed off to Terre Haute, Ind., for the NCAA National Championships feeling confident and ready to run. The team had high hopes for strong performances at the Championships, but few expected what would happen.
Heading into the race, Colorado senior Jenny Barringer was a clear favorite to win. Once the race began, she and Florida State senior Susan Kuijken jumped out of the gate and well ahead of the pack. The two were neck and neck with after two kilometers and had a five second lead on Bizzarri.
After four kilometers, Kuijken had built up a 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 caught and surpassed Kuijken to begin the final sprint home. With 100 meters left to go, Bizzarri used her signature kick to beat Schaaf and capture the victory by nearly five seconds.
The senior smashed her previous personal-best set at last year's NCAA Championships and finished the 6K race with a time of 19:46, which is a school record. Bizzarri won two national titles in less than six months, after also capturing the 5,000m title at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in June. She became 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.
Bizzarri 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. Bizzarri was also named the USTFCCCA National Cross Country Athlete of the Year for her amazing accomplishments throughout the season.
"Angela has really grown into a person that knows what she needs to do to be successful," Rasmussen said. "That has been a huge progression from where she started as a freshman. For her, not only to go the National Championships and know that she can do well but also know that she will be able to win. To be able to continue to have that kind of progression, and for every single year to get better and better, is amazing."
The other runners for the Illini all had times close to their personal-bests. Sutherland finished in 41st place with a time of 20:45.9. Sutherland greatly improved on last year's performance at the meet where she finished 109th with a time of 21:27. Boyle ended her college career on a high note, coming in 72nd place, clocking in a 6K time of 21:08.1. The Illini had a combined team score of 365 points to finish in 12th place.
The Illini achieved many of their aspirations set at the beginning of the season, but while everything did not always go the way the team planned, it was still quite a successful season. The team proved that it is one of the best teams in the Big Ten and able to compete among the best teams in the nation.
In the 2009 season, Bizzarri showed the country why she is not only the best runner in the history of the program, but also one of the top runners in the nation. The Illini women's cross country team made great strides during the 2009 season and look to only get better for years to come.
