Big Ten 2009 Postseason Outdoor Track and Field Honors (PDF)

May 21, 2009

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Illinois women's track and field team had four athletes named to the All-Big Ten First Team, announced the conference office on Wednesday. Sophomore Melissa Bates, junior Angela Bizzarri, senior Deserea Brown and junior Aja Evans all earned the honor after winning titles at last weekend's Big Ten Outdoor Championships at Ohio State's Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.

The Illini's four titles at the Big Ten Championships ranked second only to Michigan's six titles for the most first-place finishes at the meet. The Orange and Blue finished fourth in the final team standings, scoring 100 points.

Evans started the championship surge for the Illini, winning her second consecutive shot put title and easily defeating the field with a mark of 54-4 ¾. Six-time All-American Bizzarri won her first career Big Ten title, taking the 5,000m and setting a championships meet record with a time of 15:54.86. Bates won the 400 meters with a personal-best time of 53.39, while Brown rounded out the title winners by taking the 400m hurdles - an event that Illinois is traditionally successful in - with a time of 57.31.

Illinois also had three athletes named to the All-Big Ten Second Team. Freshmen Ryisha Boyd, Latoya Griffith and Ashley Kelly all received the accolade for teaming up with Brown to close out the championships by placing second in the 4x400m relay. The Illini timed 3:38.41, just 0.08 seconds off of Ohio State's first-place time of 3:38.33. Brown was also Illinois' recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.

Big Ten individual honors were also announced, with Michigan's Geena Gall receiving top honors by being named Track Athlete of the Year and Track Athlete of the Championships after winning both the 800m and 1,500m. Purdue javelin thrower Kara Patterson was named Field Athlete of the Year for the second consecutive season, while Minnesota's Alicia Rue and Penn State's Emma Schmelzer were named Co-Field Athletes of the Championships. Purdue thrower Terri Anderson earned Big Ten Outdoor Freshman of the Year, while Penn State's Beth Alford-Sullivan was Coach of the Year for directing the Nittany Lions to their second consecutive team title.

All of the Illini's Big Ten honorees will next head to Louisville, Ky. for the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships on May 29-30. The top five finishers in every event will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Outdoor Championships.