The Illinois women’s cross country team wanted to make a statement at this year’s NCAA National Championships.

The Illini got their wish.

Heading into the biggest meet of the year ranked 10th, the Orange and Blue proved rankings do not always tell the whole story and cruised to a sixth-place national finish. With their fourth-consecutive appearance in the Championship race, the Illini plan to stay at the top of the cross country charts for seasons to come.

“Overall, I was obviously very happy with our place as a team and how the girls ran today,” head coach Jeremy Rasmussen said in a press release. “Going into Nationals ranked 10th but knowing we could do better, and actually going out there today and placing higher speaks a lot for the girls.”

Angela Bizzarri, the standout from Mason, Ohio, was once again the Illini leader. Finishing the six-kilometer race in 20 minutes, 35 seconds, Bizzarri placed 14th overall. For the second straight year, the sophomore received All-American honors.

Out of the individual 253 runners, Texas Tech’s Sally Kipyeo captured the NCAA title with a time of 19:30. Bizzarri struggled early in the race, but fought back in the final few hundred meters to finish 13 spots behind Kipyeo.

“Angela has been our front-runner all year long, which has been a huge asset to our team,” Rasmussen said. “She ran a really smart race today, and went out at the start more conservatively instead of going with the pack. She worked her way up throughout the race and ended up passing about five girls in the last 600 meters.”

Bizzarri’s teammates found success in the Illini’s final meet of the year. Coming in second for Illinois and 58th overall was junior Katie Engel with a time of 21:14. Freshman Danelle Woods and sophomores Stephanie Baliga and Theresa Brokaw finished out the top five Illini finishes with times of 21:33, 21:44 and 21:57, respectively.

The team was able to travel seven runners for the meet, as freshman Chantelle Groenewoud came in at 22:05 with senior Rachel Hernandez at 22:33 in the close race.

Stanford was the overall NCAA Champion for the third straight season. Oregon, Florida State, Arizona State and Michigan State rounded out the top five before the Illini’s sixth-place finish.

The Big Ten – known throughout the country as the strongest conference – had six representatives all placing in the top 21 teams. After Michigan State and Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota came in at 10th and 12th followed by No. 20 Wisconsin and No. 21 Michigan.

Although the Illini have found success in the past, Rasmussen was pleased in his first year as head coach that the team was able to have such a strong season.

“I think a big thing that made this year such a success for our team was that the girls had a lot of fun,” Rasmussen said. “It makes their experience much more memorable and in return, makes it more fun for me as well.”