Rosholt High School senior Adam Rzentkowski (center) with his mother Kim (left) and father Duane (right), after signing a National Letter of Intent to run at NCAA Division 1 Central Michigan University, during a ceremony at Rosholt Wednesday, April 3. (John Kemmeter photo)

Portage County Gazette

By John Kemmeter

Rosholt High School senior Adam Rzentkowski made his college choice official during a ceremony at the school Wednesday, April 3.

One of the top high school distance runners in the state, Rzentkowski was joined by family and friends, as he signed a National Letter of Intent to run at NCAA Division 1 Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, Mich.

“It meant a lot to me, just to know that I’m competing with the best of the best,” said Rzentkowski. “I hope I come in and just contribute to the best of my ability, and just leave it all out on the track or the course.”

A four-time state qualifier in cross country, Rzentkowski finished fourth overall in the 2016 WIAA Division 3 State Meet as a sophomore, then placed second overall as a junior.

He finished second overall again as a senior last fall, as he helped Rosholt finish as the State Runner-up to bring home a team trophy in cross country for the first time in school history, then followed with an eighth-place finish at the NXR Heartland Regional Championships Nov. 11 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

“My most memorable moment (at Rosholt) was just probably running with my older brother, all the way from sixth grade,” said Rzentkowski. “I felt like that really got the whole process rolling, and a huge thanks to my older brother Ryan.

“But in high school, going out to South Dakota to go race at NXR, I felt like that was a good race for me that really fit well with my overall season,” he said. “I got to experience a little bit of everything, with making new relationships, going out of state and seeing some prestigious meets, and I’m just happy that I met those people and got to go to those events.”

Rosholt High School senior Adam Rzentkowski finished second overall at the WIAA Division 3 State Meet at The Ridges Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids Saturday, Oct. 27. (John Kemmeter photo)

In track this spring, Rzentkowski will look to qualify for the WIAA Division 3 State Meet for the fourth year in a row, after he won a pair of State Titles as a member of the 4×800 relay team as a freshman and sophomore, when he also had back-to-back sixth-place finishes in the 1,600 run.

He added a third-place finish in the 3,200 run as a sophomore, then was the State Runner-up in the 1,600 run and 3,200 run last year as a junior, and also reached the podium with a fourth-place finish in the 800 run.

“I definitely like the small-community feel (of Rosholt), it influenced me to make a decision to go to Mount Pleasant, a small town,” said Rzentkowski. “It just meant a lot to me, and I’m happy I can represent a good high school cross country and track team and go to a college that’s also pretty successful in cross country and track.”

Rosholt’s Adam Rzentkowski (right) holds the lead over teammates Dausen Anderson (center) and Bryan Cook on his way to winning the 1,600 run at the 2018 WIAA Division 3 Boys Track Regional at Rosholt Monday, May 21, 2018. (John Kemmeter photo)

While looking at colleges, Rzentkowski also had NCAA Division 1 Kent State University as one of his two finalists.

He ultimately chose Central Michigan, where he plans to study business administration, with hopes of one day starting his own business.

“I also took a tour of Illinois State, but I just got that feeling that Central Michigan was the place that I belonged,” said Rzentkowski. “It was just a long, time-consuming process, and I’m just happy it all came to an end, and I can just finally celebrate and belong to a college.”

Rzentkowski thanked his Rosholt cross country and track coaches, including head coach Mike Trzebiatowski and assistant coach Jon Trzebiatowski, for their help along the way.

Two days after signing with Central Michigan, Rzentkowski was in southern California, where he competed against some of the top runners in the country at the 2019 Arcadia Invitational at Arcadia High School in Los Angeles Friday and Saturday, April 5 and 6.

Rzentkowski went on to finish fifth in the 1-Mile Seeded run (4:18.84), as senior Jacob Moran (4:16.42) of Claremont, California, won the race. He also came in ninth in the 3,200 Rated run (9:16.43), as junior Dylan Schubert of Thompson Valley High School in Loveland, Colorado, (9:12.16) won the event, to finish with a pair of Top 10 finishes in the National Meet.

“Coach Trebs and his son Jon spent a lot of time, a lot of money, just to help me prepare for my future, and just help me get ready for upcoming meets,” said Rzentkowski at the signing. “Coach Trebs traveled with me to South Dakota and Milwaukee; we actually plan on going to Los Angeles this coming weekend, so I really have to thank him for traveling with me.

“And practice is another important thing that he really spent a lot of time with, just making me be the best person I am, in and out of school,” he said. “Without my coaches, I would not be in this position right now, so I’m just grateful that I had them to look out over me.”

Rzentkowski also thanked his parents Duane and Kim, as well as his family and his teammates, for supporting his decision and staying with him all the way throughout his running career.

“My parents definitely supported me on this decision and they told me that, ‘it’s your decision, 100 percent,’ and whichever decision that I made, they would support me with that all the way through,” said Rzentkowski. “And I’m just happy that I had them come on my campus visits with me and be there to support me.

“And it meant a lot that my family could come out, and just to have them support me in this decision,” he said. “I just went with my gut feeling on it, there was a lot to think about between all of the other colleges, but I just kind of knew deep down that Central Michigan was the place to go.”