Jeremy Rasmussen Position: Cross Country/Distance Coach Experience: Fourth Season Alma Mater: Arizona State University '03

Jeremy Rasmussen begins his fourth season as Illinois assistant women's track and field coach and women's cross country coach, leading one of the nation's top distance programs in the country.

At the 2009 NCAA Cross Country Championships, the Illini notched their third consecutive top-12 finish under Rasmussen's guidance, a feat accomplished by only six other teams. The Orange and Blue placed 12th as a team, while senior Angela Bizzarri became the first Illinois women's cross country runner to ever win the NCAA cross country title, posting a school-record time of 19:46 in her victory. The Mason, Ohio, native was named the USTFCCCA National Cross Country Athlete of the Year and the Midwest Region Athlete of the Year along with winning the Honda Sports Award.

Along with Rasmussen's success at the national meet in 2009, the Illini also recorded their third consecutive runner-up finish at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships and their best finish (2nd) at the Big Ten Championships since 2005. The top four runners, Bizzarri, sophomore Kristin Sutherland, senior Elizabeth Boyle and junior Chantelle Groenewoud, each earned All-Region honors for the second consecutive season. Those four runners also took home All-Big Ten accolades, with Bizzarri and Sutherland garnering first team honors and Boyle and Groenewoud taking home second team honors, marking the most All-Big Ten performers in program history.

In addition to Bizzarri's cross country success, Rasmussen coached the nine-time All-American to her third national title and four Big Ten titles during the 2010 track season. Bizzarri won the indoor 3,000m national crown, completing the circuit as a cross country, indoor and outdoor national champion, which only seven other women have done in NCAA history. She also successfully doubled at both conference championships, winning the 3,000m and 5,000m titles at the indoor meet and the 1,500m and 5,000m at the outdoor meet. For her accomplishments, Bizzarri received her third consecutive Dike Eddleman Award as Illinois' female athlete of the year.

Rasmussen's distance crew also accomplished a first for Illinois at the 2010 Big Ten Outdoor Championships by scoring in all four distance events, with Bizzarri in the 1,500m and 5,000m, Groenewoud and Maddie Aufmann in the 3,000m steeplechase, and Boyle in the 10,000m. In total, five distance runners qualified for the NCAA Preliminary Round of Championship, making Illinois one of 13 programs to be represented in every distance event at the prelims.

During the 2009 track season, Rasmussen guided Bizzarri to her first national title with her victory in the 5,000m at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Championships. She became the seventh national champion in school history, was named the USTFCCCA Midwest Region Track Athlete of the Year, notched her second consecutive NCAA Mideast Regional title and won the first Big Ten title of her career at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships. She also took third in the 5,000m at the USA Championships with a personal-best and school-record time of 15:33.02.

In 2008, Illinois took 10th at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, led by Bizzarri (6th) and senior Katie Engel (22nd). Bizzarri earned All-America accolades for the third consecutive season while Engel notched her first All-America honors, marking the first time two Illini earned the award in one season.

At the 2008 NCAA Midwest Regional, Illinois finished second behind Minnesota with Bizzarri, Engel, Groenewoud, Sutherland and Boyle earning All-Region honors. Illinois also fared well at the 2008 Big Ten Championships in Ann Arbor, Mich., under Rasmussen's tutelage, finishing in fourth place for the second consecutive season in one of the most competitive conference meets in the country. Engel and Bizzarri finished sixth and seventh, respectively, to take home first-team All-Big Ten honors.

Rasmussen also coached freshmen Danelle Woods and Groenewoud to appearances at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 3,000m steeplechase in 2008, after Woods was NCAA Mideast Regional champion in the event and Groenewoud was close behind in second. Bizzarri, Woods and Groenewoud all earned All-Region honors.

Rasmussen guided the Illini to a sixth-place finish at the 2007 NCAA Cross Country Championships, the program's second-best finish in school history, and a successful showing at the 2007 NCAA Midwest Regional Championships, where Illinois took second place behind All-Region runners Bizzarri, Engel and Woods.

At the 2007 Big Ten Championships in Columbus, Ohio, Illinois finished fourth thanks to Bizzarri, a first-team All-Big Ten selection; Engel, a second-team All-Big Ten selection; and Woods, the 2007 Big Ten Freshman of the Year.

Rasmussen led the Illini to a top-10 national ranking for the duration of the 2007 season and a top-15 ranking during the 2008 and 2009 seasons.

Rasmussen joined the Illini in the summer of 2007 after spending the previous three seasons working with the men's and women's track and field and cross country teams at Arizona State. A former student-athlete for the Sun Devils, Rasmussen was elevated to assistant coach in the 2006 season after serving as a graduate assistant for two seasons and as a volunteer coach during the 2003-04 season.

As a member of the Arizona State staff, Rasmussen helped the Sun Devil distance corps become one of the nation's elite. The women's cross country team finished second at the Pac-10 Championships each of Rasmussen's three years with the program. In addition, Rasmussen helped guide the Sun Devils to a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in 2005 and 13th-place finish in 2006.

A star in the steeplechase as a student-athlete, Rasmussen has worked with several of the top steeplers in the nation in recent years, including four-time Pac-10 steeplechase champion Aaron Aguayo and women's champions Amy Hastings, Anna Masinelli and Brooke Bennett. Prior to the 2006 cross country season, Rasmussen also worked with Lisa Aguilera when she won the 3,000m steeplechase at the 2006 USA Track & Field Championships.

Prior to his coaching and administrative duties, Rasmussen starred for the Sun Devils in both cross country and track and field. The 2000 Pac-10 champion in the 3,000m steeplechase and runner-up in both 2001 and 2002, Rasmussen helped the 2001 ASU men break the 100-point barrier at the conference competition for the first time in program history. In cross country, Rasmussen assisted the men's team in making history as the 1999 squad advanced to its first NCAA Championships appearance, placing 14th.

A Minnesota native and graduate of Mountain Ridge High School in Glendale, Ariz., Rasmussen earned his bachelor's degree in computer information systems from Arizona State in 2003 and his master's in higher education from ASU in 2006. Rasmussen is certified as a USA Track and Field Level II coach.

Jeremy is engaged to Annamarie Musinelli and is set to be married on Dec. 31, 2010.

Updated August 2010