Chippewa Men First, Women Third At NIU

DEKALB, Ill. – The Central Michigan men placed first and the Chippewa women were third on Friday in the Northern Illinois Huskie Challenge at NIU's North 40 Cross Country Course.

The Chippewa men finished with 47 points, six better than runner-up Milwaukee. Northern Illinois won the women's race with 36 points, followed by Toledo (56) and the Chippewas (94). Nine teams comprised the field. The men ran an 8K, the women a 6K.

Men
The CMU men won behind strong performances from sophomore Zachary Sleeman and senior Mark Beckmann, who finished fifth and sixth, respectively.

"That's the first time he's ever been the top finisher for us," Swieton said of Sleeman, who finished in 26:22.8. "He looked really strong."

Beckmann, who Swieton referred to as "the king of consistency," continues to play a major leadership role. He finished in 26:28.0.

"Mark is like the most consistent person I've ever had on a team," she said. "We were looking at his whole career of 8K races and how he runs … You can always count on him, and that's awesome."

Also for the Chippewas, freshman Adam Rzentkowski placed ninth (26:32.7), while sophomores Riad Rababeh (26.45.2) and Chandler Lorf (26.47.6) placed 13^th and 14^th, respectively.

"On the men's side, they worked really well together as a pack," said Swieton. "They got in the work they needed to get in today."

Women
Freshman Emily Shelton led the way for the CMU women, finishing third in 22:22.3 and making quite the impression on her coach.

"It was her first 6K," Swieton said. "She finished ahead of some people that were All-MAC last year. I think that's a good sign this early in the season."

Joining Shelton in the top 20 was fellow freshman Maddy Boyd, who finished 12^th at 23:01.9, along with sophomore Lauren Beckmann, who was 19^th at 23:20.9.

Eight Chippewas finished in the top 50 in the 92-runner field.

"We had some PR's and that's always good," Swieton said. "Overall, it was a good day for them."

Getting a Look
Prior to the meet, Swieton stressed the importance of her runners getting a look at and a feel for the course, which will be the site of the MAC Championship in November.

"I already have some ideas about what we're going to emphasize a little more in training just based on how this course ran," she said. "This is a true cross country course, which is good. We'll just kind of utilize those types of resources in practice more to make sure they're ready for that type of course come MAC Championship time."

Next
The Chippewas are scheduled to run in the Loyola Lake Front Invitational in Chicago on Sept. 28.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Lauren Beckmann

Mark Beckmann

Maddy Boyd

Chandler Lorf

Riad Rababeh

Adam Rzentkowski

Emily Shelton

Zachary Sleeman