July 6, 2007

EVANSTON, Ill - Northwestern graduate and former cross country runner, Elizabeth Kobeszka, 24, was killed Saturday morning while biking during a cycling race near Peoria.

Kobeszka was racing on the 17-mile course in the Peoria's Proctor Cycling Classic when another rider lost control, crashed into her and forced her into eastbound traffic where she collided with a truck.

"Beth was a wonderful person. She was very caring, kind, very much a team player and a hard worker. She'll be missed by a lot of us," said former cross country coach Amy Tush.

A Findlay, Ohio native, Kobeszka was her high school class valedictorian, senior class president and was the captain of both her cross country and track teams. Following her graduation from Liberty-Benton, Kobeszka took up cross country at Northwestern. After an injury-plagued freshman year that ended her season, Kobeszka came back strong in her sophomore campaign scoring in four races for the Wildcats and was named a member of the Academic All-Big Ten team.

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