BELOIT, Wis. – History was made over the weekend as the men and women competed at the 2022 Midwest Conference Outdoor Championships.  For the first time since 1924 the men have captured the Outdoor Conference Championship, while the women set a school record for points scored and team finish, adding to a season that has seen the Red Hawks win three conference championships indoors and outdoors.
 
The men scored 158 points which was 18 ahead of runner up Cornell College, while the women tallied 125.5 points which was less than 9 points out of second place.  Altogether Ripon earned 29 All-MWC honors, had three conference champions and broke five more school records, bringing the total to 20 school records set on the season.   In addition, Ripon was named Coaching Staff of the Year for the Men's side while senior Payton Rahn received the MWC Elite 20 Award for highest cumulative GPA in the conference.
 
The women's 4x100 relay team won the first conference title in school history and did so in record time.  The quartet of Jenna Erickson, Payton Rahn, Emma Spalding and Kara Block blistered the track in a time of 48.22 seconds, dropping 0.46 seconds from the previous school record, and currently ranking inside the top-30 in NCAA DIII. 
 
Junior Dameco Walker was the top point scorer in the conference during the indoor championships and followed that up with another point-title outdoors as he scored 26 points on the weekend.  He defended his indoor title in the Long Jump as he leapt out to 23'2.75 (7.08m) while establishing a new school record in the Triple Jump to take second.  His jump of 47'5.75 (14.47m) is a personal best by over two feet and ranks him top-30 in NCAA DIII.  He ran to the fourth fastest 100m dash time in school history of 10.95 seconds to qualify for finals, while also making finals in the 200m dash. 
 
Walker teamed up with the new school record holder in the 100m dash, freshman Jacoby Cefalu, in the 4x100 relay as the team of Walker, Cefalu, Logan Vander Galien and Jaden Watt-Martin broke the school record set back in 2000 with a time of 42.29 seconds to finish second overall.  In the 100m dash prelims Cefalu ran the second fastest qualifying time of 10.83 seconds to break the school record set by Matt Wood in 2010.
 
Junior distance runner Mikayla Flyte added her first conference championship to her already impressive resume.   The school record holder in the 10,000m ran her way to victory in the scorching heat Friday morning and then followed that up with a fourth place finish in the 5000m with a time of 18:52.45.  So far this season Flyte ranks top-10 in school history in six different events.
 
Freshman jumper Cade Gray once again raised the bar on his outdoor school record in the Pole Vault, this time clearing 15'7 (4.75m) to earn second place and move himself inside the top-30 in NCAA DIII. In addition to Pole Vault, the standout first-year added a third place finish in the Long Jump and fourth place finish in the Triple Jump.
 
Other All-MWC honors include:
 
2nd – Emma Spalding – 200m
2nd – Nathaniel Wosmek – 110m Hurdles
2nd – Christian Kuwaye – Steeplechase
2nd – Andrew Fuhrmann – 400m
2nd – Kaelyn Flairty – Javelin
3rd – Ben Fisher – High Jump
3rd – Kara Block – High Jump
3rd – Kara Block – Long Jump
3rd – Emma Spalding – 100m
3rd – David Potter – 10,000m
3rd – Alison DeNamur – 10,000m
3rd – Kalyn Otzelberger – Discus
3rd – Makaila Weddle – 800m
3rd – Andrew Fuhrmann – 200m
3rd – Kiki Sherman – Steeplechase
 
The Red Hawks will have one final opportunity on Thursday before the NCAA DIII Outdoor Championships to improve on their performances as a group of athletes will head to UW-La Crosse for the Last Chance Qualifier.