Galesburg, IL – History was made over the weekend as both the Men's and Women's teams earned their first ever Midwest Conference championships for Indoor Track & Field, completing the sweep in convincing fashion scoring over 170 points each and totaling 33 All-Conference performances.  In addition to that, three school records were also set while Ripon College was named Men's and Women's Coaching Staff of the Year for Indoors. 

The Women scored 173.5 points ahead of runner-up Monmouth with 149 points, while the Men ended a 21-year Indoor Championship streak by Monmouth scoring 172 points, 38.5 points ahead of the Fighting Scots. 
 
Junior Dameco Walker was the top point scorer of the championships tallying 41.25 points, which is the highest mark for an individual in school history at one championship.  Competing in seven events, Walker earned All-MWC honors in six of those events.  He tripled up on gold medals in the Long Jump, 4x400 Relay and 400m, while finishing second in the 200m and Triple Jump and adding a bronze in the Sprint Medley Relay.  In the Long Jump, Walker qualified through to finals in the seventh position, and it wasn't until his final jump of the competition did he secure the lead and the eventual win with a leap of 7.30m/23'11.5. 
 
The 400m saw a Red Hawk sweep, the only event to be swept by any team at the championships, with Walker finishing first, Andrew Fuhrmann in second and Wyatt Lowrance in third with times of 51.19, 51.70 and 51.74 seconds.  Those three teamed up with Rainier Villanueva to win the 4x400 relay in a time 3:29.15, which was the first time the men have won the 4x400 at the Indoor Championships.
 
On the women's side, teammates Payton Rahn, Emma Spalding and Makaila Weddle all scored over 20 points each to lead the Red Hawks.  Rahn's total of 28.5 points was second highest of any individual in the meet, while Spalding's 27.5 points was third overall and Weddle tallied 21 total points.
 
Individually, Rahn recorded second place finishes in the 400m with a time of 61.65 seconds and Triple Jump with a new PR distance of 34'5.75/10.51m.  Spalding also had two individual second place finishes, setting a new school record in the 200m with a time of 25.99 seconds, while nearly setting another school record in the 60m dash with a time of 7.96 seconds.  Weddle earned her first individual championship in the 800m with a time of 2:23.97, while earning a bronze medal in the Mile with a time of 5:18.21. 
 
The trio of Rahn, Spalding and Weddle also had part in two first place relay finishes.  They teamed up with Kynaeda Gray for gold in the Sprint Medley Relay (200-200-400-800) to tie the school record set earlier in the year of 4:16.56.   Then to cap off the championships that group ran with Grace Engebretson in the 4x400 relay to win it in back-to-back championships with a time of 4:11.72.
 
Continuing the relay success, Rahn, Spalding, Gray and Kara Block defended the 4x200 relay title from 2020 to win the event in a time of 1:48.55.
 
Freshman Cade Gray certainly made his case for Newcomer of the Year as he recorded 18 points at the championships, which was second highest of all freshman athletes.  His best finish came in the Pole Vault in school record fashion as he is the first Red Hawk over 15'0 in the event.  His jump of 15'1.75/4.62m was good for second place and ranks him top-50 in the NCAA so far this season.  He also added a third place finish in the Triple Jump (43'10/13.36m) and a fifth place finish in the Long Jump (22'5/6.83m). 
 
The other champion for the Red Hawks was Ben Fisher in the High Jump, as he was the only athlete to clear 6'4.25/1.94m.  That follows up his runner-up finish from the 2020 Indoor Championships.  Fisher also had a breakout performance in the Long Jump to finish fourth with a big PR of 22'5.25/6.84m. 
Junior Mikayla Flyte also had impressive individual performances on the weekend, as she was the only other Red Hawk to earn two silver medals individually.  She ran to new personal bests in the 5000m and 3000m with times of 18:34.33 and 10:39.83, both ranking top-5 all-time in school history.
 
The Red Hawks are set to host a NCAA Final Qualifier this upcoming weekend for a last chance at setting qualifying marks for the NCAA Indoor Championships, where the top-20 in each respective event will receive bids.  That will take place Friday-Saturday in the Willmore Center.
 
WOMENS TEAM SCORES: 
1. Ripon 173.5 
2. Monmouth 149 
3. Lawrence 97 
4. Grinnell 91 
5. Illinois College 61 
6. Cornell College 44
7. Beloit 43 
8. Knox 22.5 
9. Lake Forest 20 

MENS TEAM SCORES
1. Ripon 172 
2. Monmouth 133.5
3. Cornell College 114
4. Knox 77.5
5. Grinnell 73
6. Illinois College 54
7. Lawrence 43
8. Beloit 31
9. Lake Forest 3

MWC CHAMPIONS:
Women's 4x400 Relay
Women's 4x200 Relay
Women's Sprint Medley
Men's 4x400 Relay
Dameco Walker – 400m
Dameco Walker – Long Jump
Makaila Weddle – 800m
Ben Fisher – High Jump
 
SECOND PLACE FINISHERS:
Emma Spalding – 60m
Emma Spalding – 200m
Logan Vander Galien – 60m
Andrew Fuhrmann – 400m
Payton Rahn – 400m
Oscar Telschow – 60m Hurdles
Dameco Walker – 200m
Mikayla Flyte – 3000m
Mikayla Flyte – 5000m
Kara Block – High Jump
Bridget Finn – High Jump
Cade Gray – Pole Vault
Payton Rahn – Triple Jump
Dameco Walker – Triple Jump
Men's Distance Medley
 
THIRD PLACE FINISHERS:
Wyatt Lowrance – 400m
Grace Engebretson – 800m
Nate Wosmek – 60m Hurdles
Makaila Weddle – Mile
Andrew Fuhrmann – High Jump
Kara Block – Long Jump
Cade Gray – Triple Jump
Arynn Mathieu – Weight Throw
Men's Sprint Medley
Women's Distance Medley