TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Senior and seven-time All-American Angela Bizzarri ran the 6K race in a time of 20:27 to place first overall at the Pre-National Invitational. The meet marked the highest showing of the year thus far for Bizzarri, who won her first race since her collegiate debut at the Brissman-Lundeen Invite in 2006. The Mason, Ohio, native also improved by twenty-seconds over last year's time at this meet where she placed 13th.

"Angela did a great job today," women's cross country coach Jeremy Rasmussen said. "She was real comfortable within the group during the first half of the race. The girl in front of her had the lead by about twenty seconds, but Angela did a great job of getting out of her comfort zone and starting to run a little bit harder. She eventually caught the girl down the home stretch and won.

"It's good for her to be in a situation like this because it is important for her to learn different styles of racing. She understands that she can run just as fast as anyone out there."

The No.18-ranked Illinois women's cross country team took fifth in a loaded field of 37 teams Saturday at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course. The Illini had a team score of 206 to place in the top five, and faced nine ranked teams in the White Race.

Following Bizzarri was sophomore Kristin Sutherland who also ran a very impressive race, coming in seventh place with a personal-best 6K time of 20:50. Senior Elizabeth Boyle (20) came in third for the Illini and had a personal-best 6K time of 21:10. Other scorers for the Orange and Blue were juniors Chantelle Groenwoud (21:36, 46), Jamie Brusa (132) with a personal-best 6K time of 22:28, and Ashley Thompson (145) with a personal-best 6K time of 22:36. The meet also marked the season debut of Theresa Brokaw (230), who ran the race in a time of 24:09.

"The course was actually pretty wet and sloppy, so to be able to come out, run personal-bests, and finish well as a team is always great," Rasmussen said. "Overall as a group we did some really great things, but there are also some things we need to work on so that we can be where we want to be at the end of the year.

"We can't rest on this meet. We have to remain focused on the meets coming up, especially Big Tens in two weeks."

No. 1-ranked Washington had four runners finish in the top 15 and was the overall champion of the meet with 59 points.

Next week, the Illini return home and will host the Illini Open at the UI Arboretum on October 23 at 4 p.m. CT.

Illinois Results
1. Angela Bizzarri 20:27.8
7. Kristin Sutherland 20:50.3
20. Elizabeth Boyle 21:10.2
46. Chantelle Groenewoud 21:36.0
132. Jamie Brusa 22:28.0
145. Ashley Thompson 22:36.4
230. Theresa Brokaw 24:09.1

Open Race Results
27. Meghan Murphy 23:04.3
61. Stephanie Baliga 23:47.6

Team Results (Top Five)
1. Washington (59)
2. Florida (89)
3. Princeton (126)
4. Syracuse (191)
5. Illinois (206)