Central Michigan University Athletics
Friday, September 30
Bethlehem, Pa.
9:30 A.M.
Central Michigan University
at
Lehigh Paul Short Run
Cross Country: Rzentkowski Breaks Program Record; Big Day For CMU Women
9/30/2022 6:26:00 PM | Men's Cross Country
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Adam Rzentkowski broke the 8K men's program record and Emily Paupore ran the third fastest 6K time in women's program history on Friday to highlight the Central Michigan cross country team's performances at the Lehigh Paul Short Run.
Rzentkowski, a junior from Rosholt, Wis., finished in 23:47.4, breaking the CMU men's record (24:01) set by Tecumseh Adams at the 2011 Mid-American Conference Championships.
"I think secretly we were all kind of hoping that this would be the day," CMU Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Jenny Swieton said. "He set his mind on it to do it from the beginning and even though we had never really talked directly about it, I think we knew he was good enough to do it and in the right circumstance he was good enough to do it and it was going to happen.
"It's so awesome to see the excitement when somebody breaks a school record. He was so happy and excited and proud and the whole team was so excited for him. It's such a cool experience to get to see."
Paupore, a sophomore from Negaunee, finished in 20:48.4, the third best 6K time in CMU women's cross country history. Paupore led a sensational day in which four CMU women turned in times that are among the 17 fastest in program history.
"She's super tough and once she puts her mind to it, she's going to make it happen no matter what," Swieton said, adding that the strong and deep 46-team field was a major factor in the Chippewas' across-the-board success. "Almost every one of our kids (set a personal record) and I think in those races you just get in and you let the race take you to a fast time. It's going to take you to a fast time or you're going to get trampled. That's why we came out here, to get them that experience of being in that kind of race that's so competitive and such a high level.
"It just shows them what they're capable of and that's exactly what happened."
Rzentkowski placed 66th to lead the Chippewas to a 39th-place finish and Paupore was 94th, leading the women to 31st place.
The Chippewa men finished with 1164 points, while Mid-American Conference brethren Ohio (38th) and Bowling Green (43rd) had 1085 and 1267, respectively.
CMU's Blake Chipman placed 320th, followed by Gabe Goosen (324th), Jason Fredricks (325th), and Owen Howard (348th).
"They fought really hard, they gave everything they had," Swieton said.
The Chippewa women finished with 877 points, beating out Bowling Green by 11 points. Ohio placed 20th with 626.
"I think we have the ability to race with those teams, we just have to continue moving that pack forward to do what we need to do by the time the conference championship is here," said Swieton. "It's nice because we have a month to work on those things (before the MAC Championships). We have an opportunity to take those steps forward."
CMU's Anya Turner placed 139th, followed by Lauren Beckmann (183rd), Jelena Prescott (205th), and Maija Rettelle (337th).
Turner's 21:10.7 ranks as the seventh best in program history, while Beckmann's 21:26.8 is 14th, and Prescott's 21:32.7 is 17th.
"It was a really good experience for them to be in such a high-level race," Swieton said. "It ripped that band-aid off a little bit, because initially a race like this can be intimidating. They did a really good job handling themselves and staying engaged the whole race.
"I couldn't be happier with where we're at right now and we have a couple pieces we can add later in the season which I think will make us even stronger. Ever since all of these women got here, they've wanted to build something great and create a team and an environment where everybody supports one another to become a highly successful team.
"They know that doesn't happen overnight if you do it the right way and they've been doing it the right way since they got here and it's showing. We've gotten better every year, and this is just the beginning."
The Chippewas who did not compete at Lehigh are scheduled to run on Saturday at the Saginaw Valley State Red October Invite.
Rzentkowski, a junior from Rosholt, Wis., finished in 23:47.4, breaking the CMU men's record (24:01) set by Tecumseh Adams at the 2011 Mid-American Conference Championships.
"I think secretly we were all kind of hoping that this would be the day," CMU Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Jenny Swieton said. "He set his mind on it to do it from the beginning and even though we had never really talked directly about it, I think we knew he was good enough to do it and in the right circumstance he was good enough to do it and it was going to happen.
"It's so awesome to see the excitement when somebody breaks a school record. He was so happy and excited and proud and the whole team was so excited for him. It's such a cool experience to get to see."
Paupore, a sophomore from Negaunee, finished in 20:48.4, the third best 6K time in CMU women's cross country history. Paupore led a sensational day in which four CMU women turned in times that are among the 17 fastest in program history.
"She's super tough and once she puts her mind to it, she's going to make it happen no matter what," Swieton said, adding that the strong and deep 46-team field was a major factor in the Chippewas' across-the-board success. "Almost every one of our kids (set a personal record) and I think in those races you just get in and you let the race take you to a fast time. It's going to take you to a fast time or you're going to get trampled. That's why we came out here, to get them that experience of being in that kind of race that's so competitive and such a high level.
"It just shows them what they're capable of and that's exactly what happened."
Rzentkowski placed 66th to lead the Chippewas to a 39th-place finish and Paupore was 94th, leading the women to 31st place.
The Chippewa men finished with 1164 points, while Mid-American Conference brethren Ohio (38th) and Bowling Green (43rd) had 1085 and 1267, respectively.
CMU's Blake Chipman placed 320th, followed by Gabe Goosen (324th), Jason Fredricks (325th), and Owen Howard (348th).
"They fought really hard, they gave everything they had," Swieton said.
The Chippewa women finished with 877 points, beating out Bowling Green by 11 points. Ohio placed 20th with 626.
"I think we have the ability to race with those teams, we just have to continue moving that pack forward to do what we need to do by the time the conference championship is here," said Swieton. "It's nice because we have a month to work on those things (before the MAC Championships). We have an opportunity to take those steps forward."
CMU's Anya Turner placed 139th, followed by Lauren Beckmann (183rd), Jelena Prescott (205th), and Maija Rettelle (337th).
Turner's 21:10.7 ranks as the seventh best in program history, while Beckmann's 21:26.8 is 14th, and Prescott's 21:32.7 is 17th.
"It was a really good experience for them to be in such a high-level race," Swieton said. "It ripped that band-aid off a little bit, because initially a race like this can be intimidating. They did a really good job handling themselves and staying engaged the whole race.
"I couldn't be happier with where we're at right now and we have a couple pieces we can add later in the season which I think will make us even stronger. Ever since all of these women got here, they've wanted to build something great and create a team and an environment where everybody supports one another to become a highly successful team.
"They know that doesn't happen overnight if you do it the right way and they've been doing it the right way since they got here and it's showing. We've gotten better every year, and this is just the beginning."
The Chippewas who did not compete at Lehigh are scheduled to run on Saturday at the Saginaw Valley State Red October Invite.
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Players Mentioned
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
MAC Championships Interview: Miciah Smith
Saturday, November 02
MAC Championships Interview: Jenny Swieton
Saturday, November 02
Mark Beckmann Feature
Tuesday, October 15