CMU Women 1st, Men 3rd In Season-Opening Drenth Memorial

Friday, September 2

Shepherd, Mich.

11:35 AM

Central Michigan University

Jeff Drenth Memorial

Photo by: Kat Fulcher

9/2/2022 5:11:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country

Photo Gallery

By: Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com

SHEPHERD, Mich. – A fantastic start to the 2022 season for the Central Michigan cross country team.

Anya Turner won the women's race in leading the Chippewas to a first-place finish and Adam Rzentkowski was second in pacing the men to a third-place result on Friday in the 37^th Annual Jeff Drenth Memorial at Shepherd High School.

Both races were 5 kilometers in length.

The Chippewa women finished with 21 points, while Eastern Michigan (43) was second. Eastern Michigan won the eight-team men's race with 29 points while CMU finished with 69.

"It's big for our confidence moving forward," CMU Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Jenny Swieton said. "I think we knew that we were fit and that we have the tools to do really well, but whenever you can demonstrate that in a race it's just so much easier to take confidence away from that.

"We've still got work to do and (our athletes) know that, but it's a really good place to start."

Turner led a strong showing of CMU runners in the women's race, winning in 18:05.7.

CMU's Emily Paupore was third, Natalie Newcombe placed fourth, Jelena Prescott finished fifth, Lauren Beckmann came in ninth, and two freshmen, Katie Jenkins and Libby Munderloh, finished 13^th and 21^st, respectively.

"That front pack of women and that second pack of women did a really good job of working together throughout the race and I think that really paid off in the end," Swieton said. "Kate Jenkins, a freshman, had a really, really big day. She just went for it and was really positive the whole time and was aggressive. You never know as a freshman how it's going to turn out. She was a real pleasant surprise."

Rzentkowski, a junior, finished in 15:07.4. Eastern Michigan's Baldvin Magnusson, the defending Mid-American Conference champion, won in 14:57.4.

Also for the Chippewas, junior Gabe Goosen finished 15^th with what Swieton said was a "huge" personal record (15:58.6) and was followed by four freshmen: Blake Chipman (19^th), Jason Fredricks (20^th), Joey Taverna (21^st) and Hong Bing Tang (26^th), each of whom was running his first collegiate race. CMU's Carson White, a sophomore, finished 27^th.

"(Rzentkowski) kind of went out on his own and the rest of the guys ran as a pack and really worked well together," Swieton said. "They were a little timid – first college race for most of them, so I think they were a little nervous but I'm really excited because if this is them running a little timid, what's going to happen when they really get after it?"

Rzentkowski, who last year earned Second Team All-MAC honors, was impressive in battling with Magnusson, a native of Iceland who has a very impressive international record.

"For Adam to give him a run for his money, I think that really bodes well," Swieton said.

The Chippewas will next compete in the Med Brodt Collegiate Open at Bowling Green in two weeks.

"I think what was so impressive to me was how well both teams worked together," Swieton said. "Everybody worked hard and gave it their all. When that happens it's a really good day.

"They all know that the goal is the MAC and regionals and beyond. We're really, really excited with where we are, and this takes a little bit of pressure off knowing that we're in a really good spot and we can focus on training. There's still a lot of work to do and the goals are the races moving forward."