The NIU cross country record books have been rewritten once again. Alicja Czajka ran a time of 18:33 in the five-kilometer course for the second week in a row Saturday at the Central Collegiate Championships in Toledo, Ohio. Both times put her in the top five all-time at NIU.

The final team scores gave Buffalo the title while NIU finished ninth.

Along with Czajka’s 12th-place finish, NIU had four other placewinners in the meet. Jessica Schauff finished 32nd with a time of 19:07, Michelle Rhoden finished 46th with a time of 19:33, Bonnie Miller ran 19:52 – good enough for 59th – Denisse Valardes rounded out NIU’s placewinners with a time of 19:56 for 62nd place.

Freshman finishes strong

True freshman Zach Jecklin shot a final round 4-over-par 76 to finish 16th in a field that included golf teams from the Big Ten and the MAC.

NIU finished ninth overall in the tournament, thanks to the play of Jecklin and the junior trio of Dan Gratton, Ethan Roush and Nick Schenk, who all finished in the top 40.

Jared Steger made his college debut shooting a 13 over 229 for the tournament, good enough for 47th place.

Tennis triumph

Three NIU freshmen took home consolation championships Sunday at the Ball State Invitational. Alex Friesen won the Flight D consolation bracket while Chris Clark and Diego Zegarra-Ballon won the Flight D doubles consolation draw.

No. 1 singles player Willy Gali finished 2-1 in Flight A competition.