Saturday, November 21
2 p.m.
Central Michigan University
at
MAC Championships
Photo by: Courtesy Photo
Rzentkowski, Paupore Capture All-MAC Honors
11/21/2020 6:10:00 PM | Women's Cross Country
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Adam Rzentkowski and Emily Paupore earned all-conference honors to lead the Central Michigan cross country teams at the Mid-American Conference Championships on Saturday at the Bowling Green Cross Country Course.
Rzentkowski, a sophomore, was ninth in the 8K men's race. Paupore, a freshman, was 12th in the women's race, a 6K. They earned Second Team All-MAC honors.
Rzentkowski, who hails from Rosholt, Wis., finished in 24:29.6, nearly two minutes faster than he ran at the 2019 MAC Championships at Northern Illinois.
"Adam was 31st last year, so to come back and finish ninth this year is big," said Jenny Swieton, CMU's Director of Cross Country/Track & Field. "Emily and Adam did a really good job of leading our team and setting a really good example."
Paupore, who hails from Negaunee in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, posted a 21:26.9 time and was the fourth freshman to cross the finish line.
"Emily, she beat some really, really accomplished runners," Swieton said. "She's not afraid. She's super, super competitive and she's going to try to beat whoever's out there, no matter who they are, and that's what you want to build your team around, people who aren't afraid of anybody. They're going to give it everything they have."
Also for the Chippewa women, junior Lauren Beckmann was 32nd, sophomore Anya Turner was 54th, senior Ana Garcia was 63rd, junior Alexa Davis was 78th, sophomore Lauren MacDonald was 82nd, sophomore Haley Hegenauer was 87th, and freshman Jelena Prescott was 91st.
Also for the CMU men, sophomore Owen Howard was 39th, freshman Hunter Foughner was 42nd, senior Zachary Sleeman was 49th, junior Ben Griffith was 66th, and sophomore Gabe Goosen placed 68th.
"Every single person that stepped on the line for our team ran their hearts out," Swieton said. "Everybody came away with (personal records) and really big performances.
"The team results don't tell the story in this situation. Our kids kicked butt. I don't think I've ever been more proud of a group collectively. We had people who probably never expected to be here who stepped up and ran their butt off for the team and gave it everything they had. It just shows our culture is where we want it to be and our performances are going to follow. I think this is just the beginning of some really high-level performances for CMU cross country."
Bowling Green freshman Kailee Perry won the women's race in 20:41.0, while Ohio senior Josh Park was first in the men's race in 23:47.9. Northern Illinois won the women's team title with 84 points. The Chippewas (223) were eighth, an improvement of four spots over last season. Eastern Michigan won the men's team title with 39 points. The Chippewas placed seventh with 182.
"I am so excited about the future of our program," Swieton said. "I think this is a really good step forward for our program. Everyone has been through a lot the last six months. For them to put their best foot forward and give everything they've got for each other is all that we could ask. Couldn't be more proud.
"It was stressful, but it was a super fun season. I'm glad we got to have it. There was a good chance that we weren't going to have the opportunity to do this and we had a lot of good experiences. I'm super thankful that we got the chance to compete."
Rzentkowski, a sophomore, was ninth in the 8K men's race. Paupore, a freshman, was 12th in the women's race, a 6K. They earned Second Team All-MAC honors.
Rzentkowski, who hails from Rosholt, Wis., finished in 24:29.6, nearly two minutes faster than he ran at the 2019 MAC Championships at Northern Illinois.
"Adam was 31st last year, so to come back and finish ninth this year is big," said Jenny Swieton, CMU's Director of Cross Country/Track & Field. "Emily and Adam did a really good job of leading our team and setting a really good example."
Paupore, who hails from Negaunee in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, posted a 21:26.9 time and was the fourth freshman to cross the finish line.
"Emily, she beat some really, really accomplished runners," Swieton said. "She's not afraid. She's super, super competitive and she's going to try to beat whoever's out there, no matter who they are, and that's what you want to build your team around, people who aren't afraid of anybody. They're going to give it everything they have."
Also for the Chippewa women, junior Lauren Beckmann was 32nd, sophomore Anya Turner was 54th, senior Ana Garcia was 63rd, junior Alexa Davis was 78th, sophomore Lauren MacDonald was 82nd, sophomore Haley Hegenauer was 87th, and freshman Jelena Prescott was 91st.
Also for the CMU men, sophomore Owen Howard was 39th, freshman Hunter Foughner was 42nd, senior Zachary Sleeman was 49th, junior Ben Griffith was 66th, and sophomore Gabe Goosen placed 68th.
"Every single person that stepped on the line for our team ran their hearts out," Swieton said. "Everybody came away with (personal records) and really big performances.
"The team results don't tell the story in this situation. Our kids kicked butt. I don't think I've ever been more proud of a group collectively. We had people who probably never expected to be here who stepped up and ran their butt off for the team and gave it everything they had. It just shows our culture is where we want it to be and our performances are going to follow. I think this is just the beginning of some really high-level performances for CMU cross country."
Bowling Green freshman Kailee Perry won the women's race in 20:41.0, while Ohio senior Josh Park was first in the men's race in 23:47.9. Northern Illinois won the women's team title with 84 points. The Chippewas (223) were eighth, an improvement of four spots over last season. Eastern Michigan won the men's team title with 39 points. The Chippewas placed seventh with 182.
"I am so excited about the future of our program," Swieton said. "I think this is a really good step forward for our program. Everyone has been through a lot the last six months. For them to put their best foot forward and give everything they've got for each other is all that we could ask. Couldn't be more proud.
"It was stressful, but it was a super fun season. I'm glad we got to have it. There was a good chance that we weren't going to have the opportunity to do this and we had a lot of good experiences. I'm super thankful that we got the chance to compete."
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
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