Saturday, November 2
Muncie, Ind. (Ball State Cross Country Course)
11 a.m.
Central Michigan University
at
MAC Championships
Photo by: Jasper Warner '25 - @jasperwarnermedia
Paupore takes Bronze at MAC Championships; CMU women 5th, men 7th in Muncie
11/2/2024 4:09:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country
Women's 6k Results (PDF)Men's 8k Results (PDF)Photo GalleryPhoto Gallery 2Photo Gallery 3Photo Gallery 4
Paupore & Newcombe earn First-Team All-MAC honors; Paupore sets CMU Women's 6k record
MUNCIE, Ind. — Emily Paupore and Miciah Smith led Central Michigan Women's and Men's Cross Country programs on Saturday as the two teams made waves at the 2024 Mid-American Conference Championships, hosted by Ball State at the Ball State Cross Country Course.
The Chippewa women were led by Paupore, a senior, who finished 3rd in the women's 6k with a time of 20:27.5. Her time set the CMU women's 6k record, which she fell just .4 seconds shy of setting in her 2023 Individual MAC Champion race at Bowling Green.
Paupore's finish earned her First Team All-MAC honors. The Negaunee, Mich. native is the first CMU women's cross country student-athlete to earn All-MAC honors for all four years of competition.
"This is something that's been building for the four and a half years that she's been here," said Director of Cross Country/Track and Field Jenny Swieton. "Every week, every month, every year her training gets a little more difficult and she pushes a little harder. I think if you would've told either me or her four years ago that she'd be able to do the workouts she's doing right now, we probably wouldn't have believed it.
"I think it's just consistent effort over time, that's what makes a good cross country runner in a good race, that's what leads to your best performances. She's been working really, really hard since she first got here. Emily's a winner, she's always wanted to give her all every time she's out there, and when you give your all every time you're out there, you have results like this."
Natalie Newcombe finished 7th, which also earned her First Team All-MAC honors for the first time in cross country. The Mecosta, Mich. senior finished in 20:45.4.
The CMU women finished 5th as a team out of 12 competing schools, the highest team finish since 2015.
Alongside Paupore and Newcombe in the women's 6k were Jessie Gibbins (35th), Maya Guikema (39th), Joanna Kelley (41st), Chesney Wilke (52nd), Jelena Prescott (53rd), Ava Teed (64th) and Kate Jenkins (68th), who all ran in the 98-runner field.
Freshman Miciah Smith had a breakthrough race for a 22nd place finish to lead the CMU men, shattering his personal best by one minute and five seconds. He finished the men's 8k race in 24:58.8.
"Miciah was really good coming out of high school so we knew the ability was there," said Swieton. "For the first few races this season he was just figuring out the 8k, and today he just said 'screw it' and went for it.
"I think that was the appropriate race plan for him, he went for it, he knew it was going to hurt early and he was just going to let it hurt and hang on. It was a really great race, he led our guys team, which is awesome."
Also for the CMU men were Blake Chipman (29th), Jason Fredricks (30th), Nick Cockerel (33rd), Carson White (34th), Aiden Smith (35th), Ethan Leitner (42nd), Greg Janesak (50th) and Clay Kuiper (69th).
"Every single person on the course, both men and women, gave everything they had today," said Swieton. "We kind of said, we're just going to go for it, everybody's a part of what we did equally as a team. The guys truly went for it, they went hard and were ready to hurt as much as they possibly could to do something big, I was so proud of their efforts.
"This is the most proud I've been of a team of both men and women with the effort that we gave today."
The Chippewas will compete next at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional, hosted by the Mid-American Conference, on Nov. 15 at Silver Creek Metro Park in Norton, Ohio.
The Chippewa women were led by Paupore, a senior, who finished 3rd in the women's 6k with a time of 20:27.5. Her time set the CMU women's 6k record, which she fell just .4 seconds shy of setting in her 2023 Individual MAC Champion race at Bowling Green.
Paupore's finish earned her First Team All-MAC honors. The Negaunee, Mich. native is the first CMU women's cross country student-athlete to earn All-MAC honors for all four years of competition.
"This is something that's been building for the four and a half years that she's been here," said Director of Cross Country/Track and Field Jenny Swieton. "Every week, every month, every year her training gets a little more difficult and she pushes a little harder. I think if you would've told either me or her four years ago that she'd be able to do the workouts she's doing right now, we probably wouldn't have believed it.
"I think it's just consistent effort over time, that's what makes a good cross country runner in a good race, that's what leads to your best performances. She's been working really, really hard since she first got here. Emily's a winner, she's always wanted to give her all every time she's out there, and when you give your all every time you're out there, you have results like this."
Natalie Newcombe finished 7th, which also earned her First Team All-MAC honors for the first time in cross country. The Mecosta, Mich. senior finished in 20:45.4.
The CMU women finished 5th as a team out of 12 competing schools, the highest team finish since 2015.
Alongside Paupore and Newcombe in the women's 6k were Jessie Gibbins (35th), Maya Guikema (39th), Joanna Kelley (41st), Chesney Wilke (52nd), Jelena Prescott (53rd), Ava Teed (64th) and Kate Jenkins (68th), who all ran in the 98-runner field.
Freshman Miciah Smith had a breakthrough race for a 22nd place finish to lead the CMU men, shattering his personal best by one minute and five seconds. He finished the men's 8k race in 24:58.8.
"Miciah was really good coming out of high school so we knew the ability was there," said Swieton. "For the first few races this season he was just figuring out the 8k, and today he just said 'screw it' and went for it.
"I think that was the appropriate race plan for him, he went for it, he knew it was going to hurt early and he was just going to let it hurt and hang on. It was a really great race, he led our guys team, which is awesome."
Also for the CMU men were Blake Chipman (29th), Jason Fredricks (30th), Nick Cockerel (33rd), Carson White (34th), Aiden Smith (35th), Ethan Leitner (42nd), Greg Janesak (50th) and Clay Kuiper (69th).
"Every single person on the course, both men and women, gave everything they had today," said Swieton. "We kind of said, we're just going to go for it, everybody's a part of what we did equally as a team. The guys truly went for it, they went hard and were ready to hurt as much as they possibly could to do something big, I was so proud of their efforts.
"This is the most proud I've been of a team of both men and women with the effort that we gave today."
The Chippewas will compete next at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional, hosted by the Mid-American Conference, on Nov. 15 at Silver Creek Metro Park in Norton, Ohio.
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
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