Top Finisher, Angela Bizzarri of Illinois on her race:
"I was feeling good and the course reminds me of a course near my house, and I don't get home that often, so it reminded me of home. The course was tough. It didn't look as tough just looking at it initially as it was running. It was a challenging course but a lot of fun."
#2 Minnesota's Megan Duwell on the race:
"It was definitely a hot one today. Our team is not really used to this weather, but we prepared well for it and knew it was going to be a little higher temperature here in Missouri. Our goal today was just to go out and run solid races, run solid but relaxed. The regionals are somewhat of an interesting meet. It is one you want to use as a stepping stone to nationals, and I think that is exactly what we did today."
On her high finish:
"I think the fact that I stayed relaxed, believed in myself, tried to feel the front the entire time helped me be successful. Angela Bizzari really pushed me the entire way in addition to the front pack, Iowa State, Kansas and Kansas State. We were just running together and trying to have a solid race before the national meet."
On the team win:
"It means so much. We work so hard for where we are today. This season we really wanted to improve as the year went on and peek at the right time. This win will give us a lot of confidence and a lot of momentum going into nationals."
#3 Lisa Koll of Iowa State on the race:
"It went out slow, so I led at the beginning, which probably wasn't the smartest thing to do, but I felt like I didn't have a choice. Somebody had to take it and if it wasn't going to go fast, I wasn't going to have a chance at the end. So I changed race plans right from the beginning."
#4 Illinois' Kristin Sutherland on the race:
"It was a good race. Definitely the heat was a factor that wasn't in my favor, but everyone had to deal with it. I think it was a good field. It went out pretty smooth and then picked up around the second lap, that is where it started to split. I guess it was kind of what I expected going into from what my coaches had told me."
On her finish:
"I was told by a lot of teammates and members of the men's team that I should be top-five today, so I thought I better be top-five so they won't be disappointed."
On the team's second-place finish:
"First would have been awesome, but first or second and we are going to nationals, so it worked out ok. It is all we need."
Winning coach Gary Wilson of Minnesota on the win:
"I didn't think we ran very well at the Big Ten meet in terms of being a pack, and we kind of faded at the end and I take blame for that. But today they all came together and did a great job. We had seven of the top 25. It was a great win for us. We just hadn't put it together all year, so today they did. Everyone was a fighter today and had a great group energy."
"I thought at the beginning of the year we could be a top-eight team, which would be our best finish ever, and now we're ranked 17th and maybe we can be, we still have a shot at that. The kids' goal was to be in the top eight, but there are awfully good teams around up and down the line. They key at the big dance is to just get in, keep your composure and not try to be a hero. Just run and see what happens."
Runner-up coach Jeremy Rasmussen of Illinois:
"The course was a little rougher than I thought it would be and a little bit more challenging once you get out there. We raced well and competed and didn't give up, but we're better than we ran today to be quite honest. Give us nine days and we'll be alright for nationals."
