PONTIAC — Dani Bunch showed that there’s more to do on a bus ride to the season’s first girls’ basketball game than listen to music or talk to friends.

The senior got out her cell phone on Monday afternoon and called Purdue throws coach Ross Richardson and informed him that she would accept a scholarship offer to join the Boilermakers’ track and field team next season.

As the 1996 Summer Olympics unfolded in Atlanta, an 11-year-old boy intently watched the faraway action via television from his home in the south African nation of Botswana.

Gakologelwang Masheto, though convinced his path to future athletic fame lay in soccer, could not take his eyes off of what was happening on the track. Or, more specifically, off of Michael Johnson.

Perdita Felicien waited four years for another shot at an Olympic medal.

On Tuesday, the former University of Illinois track and field standout reluctantly conceded her wait won't end next month in Beijing.

CHAMPAIGN – Mike Erb, an assistant track and field coach at Marquette last season, has joined the Illinois women's track and field coaching staff.

Illini coach Tonja Buford-Bailey announced Wednesday the hiring of Erb, who will work primarily with the team's field event athletes. Former UI coach Gary Winckler, who retired after the 2008 season, handled field events coaching last season.

WINDSOR, Ontario – Four current or former members of the Illinois women's track and field program are entered in the Canadian Olympic Trials, which begin Thursday.

Former Illini Yvonne Mensah will be joined by juniors-to-be Alecia Beckford-Stewart and Katie Engel, and sophomore-to-be Cheria Morgan.

CHAMPAIGN – Gia Lewis likens the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials to a certain basketball tournament the NCAA puts on each year.

They both, the former Illinois discus thrower says, can be a maddening experience.

CHAMPAIGN – Angela Bizzarri and J Leman today were named Dike Eddleman Award winners as Illinois Athletes of the Year.

Bizzarri starred in both cross-country and track. She earned All-America status for the second consecutive year with a 14th-place finish at the NCAA cross-country meet, leading the Illini to sixth in the nation. At last weekend's NCAA Championships, she was second in the 5,000 meters.

DES MOINES, Iowa – Illinois' Angela Bizzarri saved her best for last.

Bizzarri finished second in the 5,000 meters Friday night at the NCAA Outdoor Championships at Drake Stadium, setting a school record and earning All-America honors for the third time as a sophomore.