Central Michigan University Athletics
Central Michigan University
MAC Championship
Rzentkowski Makes It An All-MAC 3-Peat
10/29/2022 3:33:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country
ATHENS, Ohio – Central Michigan's Adam Rzentkowski placed 12th in the Mid-American Conference Cross Country Championships on Saturday at Ohio University Golf Course.
Rzentkowski, a junior from Rosholt, Wis., earned Second Team All-MAC honors. It marked the third time he has been named all-conference during his career. The top seven finishers in each race earn First Team All-MAC. Those finishing eighth-14th are second team.
"Adam went for it," CMU Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Jenny Swieton said. "He just didn't have as much as he wanted to have today,"
Rzentkowski completed the race, an 8K, in 24:12.2.
Sophomore Emily Paupore led the CMU women by placing 22nd in 21:24.9. The women ran a 6K.
Both CMU squads finished in seventh place. Eight teams comprised the men's field; 12 comprised the women's.
"It definitely was not our day," Swieton said. "We are capable of much better. Obviously, everyone knows that they are supported no matter what and we care about them no matter what, but we just need to figure out what we need to do better next time and how we can prepare them to perform better when it matters."
Miami (Ohio) won the men's title behind individual winner Obsaa Feda. Toledo repeated as the women's champion with Joy Chirchir and Faith Linga taking second and third place, respectively.
Also for CMU in the men's race, Blake Chipman placed 42nd followed by Owen Howard (43rd), Clay Kuiper (47th), Gabe Goosen (51st), Joey Taverna (53rd), Carson White (63rd), Jason Fredricks (66th), and Ethan Leitner (71st).
"Clay Kuiper took a big step forward today, as far as when our guys were in the back of the pack, he made it a point to make a move and push everyone along with him, which we really needed," Swieton said.
Behind Paupore for CMU in the women's race were Anya Turner (28th), Maija Rettelle (35th), Jelena Prescott (38th), Jessie Gibbins (48th), Libby Munderloh (54th), Lauren Beckmann (56th), Alexis Gourrier (64th), and Kate Jenkins (84th).
"We have a lot that we will learn from," Swieton said. "I think on the women's side we are physically there, but we are not mentally there yet.
"Maija Rettelle had an amazing race, and I definitely don't want that to be overlooked. I was really impressed by her grit, performance, and competitiveness the whole race."
The Chippewas will compete at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional in Terre Haute, Indiana on Friday, Nov. 11.
The top two teams from the regional qualify for the NCAA Championships.
Last season, the Chippewa men placed 19th in the 30-team regional field. The women placed 21st out of 31 teams.
With nearly two weeks to prepare, Swieton said her team needs to focus on the mental battle.
"Honestly we just need to be more willing to take risks," she said. "We need to risk failure. We cannot go into races like we have something to lose.
"There is nothing we need to do physically. They are all fit and ready to go. We just need to learn how to handle more pressure than we are used to and know that it can happen because they are capable of more than they have shown."
