Paupore Claims MAC Championship Steeplechase Record on Day Two

ATHENS, Ohio — "She definitely put on a little bit of a show today."

Emily Paupore finds a new record to break every chance she gets. Friday, it was the Mid-American Conference Outdoor Championships meet record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, collecting the event's gold medal in 9:57.18, roughly one second shy of her own program record.

"She's obviously reached another level of ability," Head Coach Jenny Swieton said of the senior phenom. "She can consistently do that week after week; every time she competes."

"I was just trying to go in and run a competitive race and prepare for future meets," Emily Paupore said. "A lot of times I have a hard time of racing aggressive from the gun, so I was proud of the way I held in it when it got hard."

The multi-time MAC Champion and Central Michigan Track & Field recordholder holds the East Region's fifth-best time in the event, 14^th nationally, setting the stage for Friday's gap on the field of over 45 seconds.

"I've had a hard time in the past running things alone, but I think in the steeplechase it's a little bit easier because you have constant barriers in front of you, so focusing on hurdling over them well is really helpful."

Paupore's efforts have turned the steeplechase into a flagship event for the Chippewas in recent years. Emma Janesak marked CMU's fifth medal in the multi-disciplinary event over the past three seasons in Saturday's competition, finishing in a personal-best 10:45.27—seventh in the program's top ten list.

"It started with Anya Turner in 2022," Swieton said. "She finished better than expected in the MAC meet and that got the ball rolling for everybody.

"The next year is when Emily [Paupore] first tried the steeple, so we had those two, and a bunch more that wanted to try it. It's awesome to see people like Emma [Janesak] come so far in one year, but she sees it's possible because of the people before her."

The decorated senior will take to the track again for Saturday's 5,000-meter race (4:20 p.m. ET), her signature event as the two-time reigning champion in the conference indoor championships. Paupore will be doing so alongside a close friend and another breakout performer in the event, Natalie Newcombe, who sits just outside the cut line for the NCAA East Regional.

"I'm really excited that Natalie and I get to race together one more time," Paupore said. "It'll be fun to get to compete together and have a full-circle moment getting to finish together."

Kaitlynn Rush qualified fifth for Saturday's 100-meter final with an 11.73-second trial attempt—third-best time in program history—Friday afternoon, which built on her momentum from Thursday's 200-meter trial, which saw her trim nearly a quarter of a second from her previous career mark.

"I think she's always had the school record in the back of her mind," Swieton said, "so going for big times in the 100 isn't new to her but the confidence she gained yesterday [in the 200] really helped her performance today."

Ereka Risner opened the day with a 14.29-meter heave of the shot put that landed seventh in the meet, and the CMU record book, an improvement over nearly 2.5 feet from her personal-best Friday morning.

"Ereka was one of the highlights of the day for me. [Assistant Coach] Curtis Bell has been telling me 'a big throw is coming,' but to see it actually happen was so fun, and to see how excited all of her teammates were for her. She works really hard, she deserves it."

Central Michigan Track & Field remains seventh in the team standings, just where it entered after Thursday's action. The 4x100-meter relay opens the action on the final day of the MAC Outdoor Championships Saturday at 1:10 p.m. ET. The Chippewas will do battle in finals for the 100-meter, 1,500-meter, 5,000-meter, discus and high jump along with the two relay events.

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Paupore Claims MAC Championship Steeplechase Record on Day Two

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Players Mentioned

Emma Janesak

Natalie Newcombe

Emily Paupore

Ereka Risner

Kaitlynn Rush

Anya Turner