Cross Country Continues Strong at the Rock River Invite

9/1/2023 - Rockford, IL: Both the men and women cross country teams traveled to Rockford for the Rock River Invite on Friday, September 1st. The Rock River Invite is a 5k race for both the men and the women. Last year at this invite, the men, led by Albert Szewczyk in a time of 17:47.8, came in third place behind Aurora and Rockford. The women came in second led by Lilly Alberts in 20:31. This year, once again led by Szewczyk and Alberts, were able to pull out the victory for the men while the women placed second behind Aurora for the second year in a row!

Women
The Hawks had seven runners toe the line ready to race. Alberts and Ada Saletnik went out conservatively together with Claudia Wojciechowski right on their heels. Alberts really threw down the throttle running her last mile in 5:59 to finish the course in 19:25.7, over a minute faster than last season, to seal the individual win. Saletnik came in third overall, running evenly to finish in 19:54.1. Wojciechowski wasn't far behind finishing the course in 20:25.6 which was good for fifth overall.

Isabella Wojciechowski and Kaili Decker rounded out the scoring for the Hawks. Wojciechowski ran 21:33.5 and finished 15th, while Decker ran 21:40.71 and finished right behind her.

Last season, the Hawks only had one runner under 22:00 for 5k at this invite compared to the entire top five being below that mark this season.

Brianna Ruiz and Araxi Boghossian also raced for the Hawks, finishing in 23:39.4 and 25:18 respectively, and 27th and 41st place.

Ruiz was an All-American for the Hawks in 2022 and will look to work her way back to her previous form over the course of the season.

Boghossian improved upon her time last year and will continue to race throughout the season to get ready for track.

Kasey Ledinsky unfortunately was unable to race due to injury, but was with the team and providing support.

Men
Eleven men suited up for the 5k invite.

Albert Szewczyk led for the men with a pack of four Hawks closely behind. Szewczyk ran 16:38.7 which was good for fourth place. Jason Schmidt, Owen Whelan, Marcos Jaimes and Konrad Jakubowski were not far behind him finishing in sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth. They ran 16:47.9, 16:50.4, 16:55.1, and 16:58.9 respectively.

Szewczyk ran 17:48 and Jaimes ran 19:46 last year at this invite. They both have shown immense improvement as sophomores.

Matt Trybus, Jose Morales, and Harry Carr started the race off as a pack as well. Trybus and Morales stayed close together the whole race, finishing in 17:28.1 and 17:36.6. Carr fell off the pace a little bit but still finished in 18:16.4. Trybus is looking much healthier than last year while Morales and Carr are hungry freshmen looking to make an impact.

The top seven men for the Hawks are ahead of where Szewczyk was at this point last season. Szewczyk went on to make the All-American Second Team in 2022.

Carter Swearingen, Jose Guzman and Edwin Amaro also raced for the men. They finished in 19:21, 19:59, and 20:59.

While the Hawks are off to a great start, consistency will be the determining factor in whether they reach their goal of National Champions come November.

The Hawks race next on Friday, September 8th, at the NCC Invitational.

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Players Mentioned

Owen Whelan: Freshman

Marcos Jaimes: Sophomore

Matt Trybus: Sophomore

Albert Szewczyk: Sophomore

Lilly Alberts: Sophomore

Kaili Decker: Sophomore

Brianna Ruiz: Sophomore

Araxi Boghossian: Sophomore

Claudia Wojciechowski: Freshman

Isabella Wojciechowski: Freshman

Carter Swearingen: Freshman

Jose Morales: Freshman

Players Mentioned

Owen Whelan
: Freshman

Marcos Jaimes
: Sophomore

Matt Trybus
: Sophomore

Albert Szewczyk
: Sophomore

Lilly Alberts
: Sophomore

Kaili Decker
: Sophomore

Brianna Ruiz
: Sophomore

Araxi Boghossian
: Sophomore

Claudia Wojciechowski
: Freshman

Isabella Wojciechowski
: Freshman

Carter Swearingen
: Freshman

Jose Morales
: Freshman