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Football By Michael Westemeier, Ripon College Director of Athletics Communications

Ripon's 100 For 100: Ralph Christoffersen '25

**In conjunction with the Midwest Conference's Centennial Celebration, Ripon College has selected 100 Ripon student-athletes from the last 100 years in the MWC. This will be a regular feature with 2-3 new athletes revealed per week. This is in no way meant to be a ranking, rather a celebration of Ripon's 100 years in the MWC.**

RIPON, Wis. - A part of Ripon College's inaugural Athletics Hall of Fame induction class in 1980, Ralph "Christy" Christoffersen '25 was one of the first three-sport letterwinners in school history, lettering in football, basketball, and track & field. He is the oldest student-athlete on Ripon's '100 For 100' list.

It was in track & field where Christoffersen made his biggest impact, which can still be seen today, as he still holds Ripon's oldest and longest-standing record in school history. Christoffersen set the school record in the long jump with a distance of 23-06 during the 1924 season. In addition to his nearly 100-year-old record, Christoffersen also set the school record in the high jump, which stood for 43 years.

"For any record to stand for nearly 100 years is impressive itself, especially with the advances in equipment and training. In the 1920's they were jumping from a dirt or grass runway, so to jump a distance that would be competitive nationally still today is quite the performance," Ripon Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Bob Wood said. "To see what Ralph and some of his teammates did that year representing Ripon is something the college and this program continues to be proud of."

Christoffersen played a major role in Ripon winning its first and only Midwest Conference Outdoor Track & Field Team Championship in 1924, breaking conference records in both the high jump (5-08.75) and long jump (23-01.5) on that day, while also finishing third in the 120 high hurdles. During his three-year career, Christoffersen was a three-time conference champion in the long jump, while winning the high jump twice. He also finished in the top three in the 120 high hurdles each year, while placing third in the javelin as a senior.

In the words of teammate and fellow Ripon Athletics Hall of Famer Erwin Trantow '24, who tied Christoffersen in the high jump at the 1924 MWC Championships, "When Ripon won the Midwest Conference track meet on that day in Beloit, Ralph, Earl Elleson, and myself scored enough points combined to win the meet."

A native of Chippewa Falls, Wis., Christoffersen's record-breaking long jump qualified him for the Olympic tryouts in Boston in 1924. His school record would have been less than a foot shy of the Olympic Gold Medal distance that year at the 1924 Paris Games.


CLICK HERE to view and read all of Ripon's archived '100 For 100' profiles, which will have each profile added to it once it is posted online.
 
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