Illinois' Angela Bizzarri was named as Division I's female cross country Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the 2009 season as announced by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Monday. Bizzarri is also among 104 given All-Academic status for the previous cross country season for their efforts in the classroom and on nation's cross country courses.

The Big Ten boasted 15 representatives on the list to tie the Big 12 and Big East for the most among all Division I conferences.

Look here for a complete list of USTFCCCA 2009 Division I Women's Cross Country All-Academic Honorees.

Illinois senior Angela Bizzarri, was named the 2010 Honda Sports Award winner in cross country, designating her as the nation's top collegiate female athlete in that sport. The honor was based on the results of national balloting among 1,000 NCAA member schools as part of the Collegiate Women Sports Awards program, now in its 34th year. Bizzarri raced her way to the 2009 NCAA Cross Country Championship title in a school record breaking six-kilometer time of 19:46.8 and was named the USTFCCCA National Cross Country Athlete of the Year.The eight-time All-American is now automatically nominated for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year. READ MORE.

The Big Ten recognized today 705 fall sports stduent-athletes to the Academic All-Conference Team. The list of honored student-athletes features 60 men's and 113 women's cross country runners, 73 field hockey players, 193 football players, 60 men's and 143 women's soccer athletes and 63 volleyball players. To be eligible for Academic All-Big Ten selection, student-athletes must be letterwinners who are in at least their second academic year at their institution and carry a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher.

At least eight Big Ten student-athletes have maintained unblemished 4.0 GPAs, including a trio of women's cross country runners in Iowa's Katie Ellis (Sr., English/Cinema) and Hannah Roeder (Sr., Integrative Physiology) and Purdue's Kara Conflenti (So., Nursing). Also on the list are 2009 NCAA women's cross country champion Angela Bizzarri (Sr., Molecular and Cellular Biology) and Big Ten Athlete of the Year Bridget Franek (Sr., Kinesiology) of Penn State.

Look here for the full release and a complete listing of 2009 fall sports Academic All-Big Ten honorees.

Illinois' Angela Bizzarri used a late kick to capture the women's individual crown at the 2009 NCAA Cross Country Championships Monday afternoon. The Illini senior raced her way to the top of the winner's podium on the strength of a 19:46 effort in the six-kilometer event. She becomes the first female to capture an individual title at the national event in program history. Also placing in the top 10 was Minnesota's Megan Duwell who posted a seventh-place finish with a time of 20:06.9. The Gopher senior led her team to a 10th place team finish to lead all conference teams in the overall standings.

On the men's side, Wisconsin led all conference teams with a seventh place finish. The Badgers placed four harriers in the top 40 percent of individual competitors and were led by freshman Mohammed Ahmed in 26th place. Big Ten Athlete of the Year Hassan Mead completed the 10-kilometer course in 29:51 to finish inside the top 15.

Overall, three men's and four women's harriers earned All-America honors by virtue of their top-40 finishes in Monday's Championship event. 

For more information and complete results from the NCAA Championship, look here.

The Big Ten recently saw four of its own recognized by U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Association as this season's Division I Cross Country Coaches and Athletes of the Year were announced Wednesday. llinois' Angela Bizzarri was named Midwest Region Cross Country Runner of the Year after being crowned individual champion and leading the Illini to a runner-up finish at the regional competion last Saturday. Meanwhile, Minnesota head mentor Gary Wilson received the nod as Midwest Region Coach of the Year after guiding his team to its third-consecutive regional title. On the men 's side, two harriers earned regional distinction in Minnesota's Hassan Mead and Ohio State's Jeff See, who captured individual crowns to earn Midwest and Great Lakes Athlete of the Year laurels, respectively.

Eleven Big Ten squads will represent the conference at this year's NCAA Cross Country Championships. Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State and Wisconsin will compete on the men's side and Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State Minnesota, Ohio State and Penn State will race on women's side. The conference will send four individuals to the national meet in Indiana's Andrew Poore, Penn State's Vince McNally, Purdue's Caden Shields and Wisconsin's Caitlin Comfort.

The event takes place on Monday, Nov. 23 with the men's 10,000 meters starting at 12:08 p.m. ET and the women's 6,000-meter race commencing at 12:58 p.m. Both competitions are set to run on the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country course at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center in Terre Haute, Ind.

The 2009 NCAA Cross Country Regional results are in the books with fie conference squads earning automatic berths to the NCAA Championships by virtue of their top-two finishes on Saturday.

The Wisconsin men's cross country team earned a first-place team finish in the Great Lakes Region, while Michigan State claimed the runner-up spot to capture the remaining automatic qualifying bid. The Ohio State Buckeyes rounded out the top three positions, and are in solid position to receive an at-large bid to the national meet.

Meanwhile, two-time Big Ten individual champion Hassan Mead and OSU's Jeff See cruised to individual crowns at their respective regional events.  

On the women's side Minnesota claimed the top spot in the Midwest Region for the thir straight year, finishing 26 points ahead of runner-up Illinois,  Illini senior Angela Bizzarri won the six-kilometer race on Saturday with a time of 20:07.5. Additionally, Ohio State clinched its first ever trip to the NCAA championships with a second-place finish at the NCAA Great Lakes regional finals.

The remaining conference squads will wait to hear their NCAA Championship fate until selections are announced Sunday evening.

The latest version of the USTFCCCA women's top-30 poll highlighted six Big Ten teams, headlined by 2009 team champion Penn State. The Nittany Lions jumped seven spots, voting in just outside the top-10 at No. 11. On their heels, Illinois checked in at No. 13 while Minnesota ranks third among conference schools at No. 17 in this week's rankings. Michigan garnered a spot at No. 23 while Michigan State and Iowa round out the conference contingent at No. 26 and No. 30, respectively.

In the regional polls, Michigan leads all Great Lakes teams, including five other Big Ten squads. Michigan State claimed the runner-up spot, followed by Indiana (No. 4), Ohio State (No. 5), Purdue (No. 8) and Wisconsin (No. 13). The Nittany Lions rank fourth among all Mid-Atlantic schools, while Illinois and Minnesota top the charts in the Midwest region at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by Iowa in the fourth-place position.

Washington continues to lead all women's teams in the national poll, with Villanova and Florida rounding out the top three as they prepare for regional action.

Minnesota junior Hassan Mead and Penn State senior Bridget Franek have been named men's and women's Big Ten Cross Country Athletes of the Year, conference officials announced today. Wisconsin's Maverick Darling and Penn State's Nicole Lord earned the nod as Freshmen of the Year; while Badger coach Mick Byrne and Beth Alford-Sullivan of Penn State take home Coach of the Year honors.

For the 11th-straight season the Wisconsin men's cross country team captured the Big Ten Championship title in dominating fashion, placing five of their runners among the top eight finishers to best the field by an astonishing 65 points. The Badgers extended their own conference record for consecutive championships, collecting 26 team points en route to the conference crown on Sunday at the Penn State University White Golf Course. Minnesota junior Hassan Mead captured his second Big Ten individual title in as many seasons, completing the 5.2 mile-course a full five seconds ahead of the field in 25:00.2

On the women's side, host Penn State garnered its first Big Ten Championship title, amassing 71 team points to edge Illinois (77) by a narrow six-points. Nittany Lion senior Bridget Franek claimed top honors in the event, crossing the finish line in a time of 20:03 - the second fastest six-kilometer mark ever recorded by an individual titlist in Big Ten Championships history.

Men's Results

Women's Results