CHAMPAIGN – Angela Bizzarri joined some truly select company Wednesday.

The three-time NCAA distance running champion became a three-time winner of the Dike Eddleman Award. How rare is that?

In the 62-year history of the honor – which annually goes to the top male and female athletes at the University of Illinois – there have been only two other three-time recipients.

The fact that Bizzarri knows all about one of the others made her own Eddleman trifecta all the more special to the Illini senior. Like Bizzarri, Perdita Felicien was a three-time NCAA champion before taking her track career to an Olympic and world championship level.

"That's awesome," Bizzarri said when informed that Felicien also was a three-time Eddleman pick. "It's really awesome to be a part of that (group) and maybe give me some confidence that I might be able to do well at the next level.

"I know she was obviously a great athlete in college and continued to be a great athlete beyond college, so it's pretty cool being in that group. She's a great person and a great athlete."

While Bizzarri was following in the footsteps of Felicien (2001-03) and volleyball great Mary Eggers (1987-89), the other recipient of the 2010 Eddleman Award was breaking new ground. Junior Scott Langley, the reigning NCAA golf champion, is the first Illini men's golfer to win the UI's top athletic honor. Langley, currently in California to compete in the U.S. Open, previously earned the Arnold Palmer Award for winning the NCAA individual title.

Bizzarri and Illini women's track coach Tonja Buford-Bailey each said the senior's string of Eddleman honors spoke to the consistency she exhibited during her career.

"She was able to prove herself her sophomore year and then continue to get better and be a consistent athlete on the national level," Buford-Bailey said.

Said Bizzarri: "That's something that's always been important to me, just to do consistently well and get consistently better."

The nine-time All-American won two of her three NCAA titles this school year – in cross-country and the indoor 3,000 meters – and was the 2009 national collegiate women's Cross-Country Athlete of the Year. Bizzarri also was one of six finalists for the 2009 Sullivan Award, which annually goes to the top U.S. amateur athlete.

Bizzarri continued a near stranglehold on the Eddleman Award by the women's track and field team over the past decade. That program has produced nine of the last 10 female award winners.

"We've just had a lot of top-notch-caliber athletes coming out of our program, which is great for the legacy of the program," said Buford-Bailey, herself a two-time Eddleman winner (1992-93). "And hopefully we can continue to get those caliber of athletes."

With her Illini career over, Bizzarri plans to continue to run on the pro track circuit. The five-time Big Ten champion currently is arranging to get an agent and negotiating with shoe companies on a possible sponsorship.

"It's starting," she said. "It's kind of what I've been working on the past few days, and hopefully I can get those decisions made to move on. ... It's exciting to have those options."

Bizzarri said she plans to run the 5,000 meters at the USA Championships next week in Des Moines, Iowa, In 2009, she finished third in that event at the U.S. nationals.

The site of this year's meet, Drake Stadium, holds fond memories for Bizzarri. In particular, it was the place where she first established herself as a national contender in 2008 by placing second in the NCAA outdoor 5,000.

"I kind of surprised myself on that track my sophomore year when they had the NCAA meet," she said. "It's definitely a track I've run on a lot and I've had a lot of positive experiences so I'm definitely excited to go back there."

Bizzarri, who leaves the UI with seven school records, said she's prepared to compete at least a few more years before reassessing her career.

"It kind of all depends how it goes and how much better I feel like I can get," she said. "Basically, the goal is to make the (U.S. national) team and represent the USA in major international meets."

Bizzarri said it would be premature to speculate on her chances to make the U.S. Olympic team in 2012.

"There's a lot of steps up to that process and a lot of obstacles you have to overcome to do that," she said. "I'm excited about the thought of it, but more looking toward the realistic things I need to do to get there."

Top newcomers. The UI also announced Wednesday that D.J. Richardson (men's basketball) and Pepper Gay (softball) were the winners of its Male and Female Newcomer of the Year awards.

Richardson, the Big Ten Freshman of the Year in his sport, averaged 10.5 points while starting a school freshman-record 35 games. He was the second-leading freshman scorer in the conference.

Gay, the Illini's No. 2 starting pitcher, finished with a 16-1 record and 1.46 ERA. The right-hander's ERA ranked third in the Big Ten.

Eddleman Award Winners
1940 — William J. Hapac, basketball/baseball
1941 — John Drish, basketball/baseball
1942 — Andy Phillip, basketball/baseball
1943 — Andy Phillip, basketball/baseball
1944 — Buddy Young, football/track & field
1945 — Walton “Junior” Kirk, basketball
1946 — Herbert McKenley, track & field
1947 — Alex Agase, football/wrestling
1948 — Dwight “Dike” Eddleman, football/basketball/track & field
1949 — Dwight “Dike” Eddleman, football/basketball/track & field
1950 — Russell Steger, football/baseball
1951 — Don Sunderlage, basketball
1952 — Charles Boerio, football
1953 — Clive Follmer, basketball/baseball
1954 — J.C. Caroline, football
1955 — Paul Judson, basketball
1956 — Em Lindbeck, football/baseball
1957 — Abe Woodson, football/track & field
1958 — Bob Mitchell, football/track & field
1959 — Abe Grossfeld, gymnastics
1960 — Bill Burrell, football
1961 — Bill Brown, football/track & field
1962 — Doug Mills, football/basketball/baseball
1963 — Harold Holmes, gymnastics
1964 — Dick Butkus, football
1965 — Dick Butkus, football
1966 — Jim Grabowski, football
1967 — Jim Dawson, basketball
1968 — Dave Scholz, basketball
1969 — Dave Scholz, basketball
1970 — Mike Price, basketball
1971 — Lee LaBadie, track & field/cross-country
1972 — Rick Gross, track & field/cross-country
1973-81 Award not given
1982 — Tony Eason, football
1983 — Tony Eason, football; Marianne Dickerson, track & field/cross-country
1984 — Don Thorp, football; Karen Brems, gymnastics
1985 — Charles Lake, gymnastics; Kelly McNee, track & field/cross-country
1986 — David Williams, football; Jonelle Polk, basketball
1987 — Darrin Fletcher, baseball; Mary Eggers, volleyball
1988 — Tim Simon, track & field; Mary Eggers, volleyball
1989 — David Zeddies, gymnastics; Mary Eggers, volleyball
1990 — Kendall Gill, basketball; Laura Bush, volleyball
1991 — Jon Llewellyn, wrestling; Sarah Sharp, basketball, and Renee Heiken, golf
1992 — Tim Simpson, football, and Len Sitko, track & field/cross-country; Renee Heiken, golf, and Tonja Buford, track & field
1993 — Marko Koers, track & field; Tonja Buford, track & field
1994 — Anthony Jones, track & field; Tina Rogers, volleyball
1995 — Dana Howard, football, and Steve Marianetti, wrestling; Tonya Williams, track & field
1996 — Kevin Hardy, football; Tonya Williams, track & field
1997 — Ernest Benion, wrestling; Ashley Berggren, basketball
1998 — Eric Siebert, wrestling; Ashley Berggren, basketball, and Yvonne Harrison, track & field
1999 — Oliver Freelove, tennis; Cristy Chapman, volleyball
2000 — Jason Anderson, baseball; Jessica Aveyard, swimming
2001 — Adam Tirapelle, wrestling; Perdita Felicien, track & field
2002 — Kurt Kittner, football; Perdita Felicien, track & field
2003 — Amer Delic, tennis, and Matt Lackey, wrestling; Perdita Felicien, track & field
2004 — Justin Spring, gymnastics; Leisha Alcia, soccer
2005 — Deron Williams, basketball; Cassie Hunt, track & field/cross-country
2006 — Justin Spring, gymnastics; Cassie Hunt, track & field/cross-country
2007 — Kevin Anderson, tennis; Yvonne Mensah, track & field
2008 — J Leman, football; Angela Bizzarri, track & field/cross-country
2009 — Paul Ruggeri, gymnastics; Angela Bizzarri, track & field/cross-country
2010 — Scott Langley, golf; Angela Bizzarri, track & field/cross-country