WHITEWATER, Wisconsin – The Ripon track and field programs spent the last two days facing the toughest competition in the region as the Red Hawks went on the road for the first time this season at the Squig Converse Invite hosted by UW-Whitewater inside the Williams Center.
Additionally, three Red Hawk men competed at a high level at the Black and Gold Invite in Iowa City, Iowa hosted by the University of Iowa on Saturday afternoon.
Dameco Walker (long jump and 200-meter run),
Jacoby Cefalu (60-meter dash) and
Jake Davies (200-meter run) each took their talents to the Hawkeye Indoor Track Facility and the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex to run against Division I and NJCAA schools.
Cefalu had a banner day. His 6.91 time in the 60-meter dash prelims not only set a school record and qualified him for the finals against five Division I athletes, but it was a PR and the 21st-fastest 60-dash time in DIII this season. He carried that momentum over into the 200-meter dash, where he took eighth with a time of 22.07 for a new PR and the 18th-fastest mark in the country this season.
Walker placed extremely well in the long jump, taking fourth with a 7.13 mark.
On the men's side in Whitewater on Friday, sprinting events were kind to the Red Hawks.
Zak Ladage had a PR in the 60-meter hurdles qualifiers with a time of 9.73, while
Logan Vander Galien took 13th in the 60-meter dash and just missed the 7.07 bubble time to qualify for the finals with a 7.13 showing. Vander Galien also had a season-best in the 200-meter run with a time of 23.86.
Ripon made its mark in the distance events as well. In the 5,000-meter run,
Adrian Baquera came in 10th with a 16:33.30 time while
Jeremy Saloun PR'd the mile (4:47.39) and
Adisun Romprey placed 13th.
Christian Kuwaye (1:59.05),
Rainier Villanueva (1:59.40) and
Jamar Thomas (2:06.62) each had season-bests in the 800-meter run as
Sean Rath (2:07.67) also had a personal best.
In field events,
Noah Hanson had personal bests in the weight throw at 11.01m and the shot put at 12.35m, while
Braedy Picard PR'd the shot put as well with a showing of 12.58m.
In Saturday's women's competition at Whitewater, a host of Red Hawks accumulated personal and season bests.
Devin Ibarra crossed the finish line of the 400-meter run in 1:08.65, a season-best.
Jenny Cortes had an efficient mile run, taking second with a 5:15.58 time, good for a new PR. In the same event,
Alison Denamur (5:20.31) took sixth and
Mikayla Flyte (5:24.26) took seventh while
Macy Goldthorpe (6:08.54) and
Greta Mahler (6:10.25) each recorded season bests.
Additionally,
Gabby Allard took fourth in a competitive 5,000-meter run with a 19:17.44 showing, while
Minnie Hoffman (2:33.27) and
Ximena Juarez-Martinez (2:38.89) PR'd the 800-meter run.
Sidney Hoffa was yet another Red Hawk to earn a personal best, doing so in the 200-meter dash with a 27.78 time.
In field events,
Nicole Arnhold (9.55m, triple jump) and
Kalyn Otzelberger (13.61m, weight throw and shot put, 12.08m) each had season-best performances.
To wrap up the meet, Ripon's 4x400 relay quartet of
Bridget Finn, Cortes,
Heleyna Weiss and
Madylyn Woyak had a season-best 4:13.70 time and came in fourth.
Finn also participated in Friday's pentathalon, her second pentathlon of the season, and performed extremely well. Her 3,0004 point performance was a PR, the second-best score in program history and the 24th-best pentathlon score in the country. She also PR'd the 60 hurdles with a 9.95 time to move up in the top 10, all-time list in the Ripon record books and solidify her score as third-best in the Midwest Conference this season. A third PR for Finn came in the 800-meter run (2:30.50) which is the fifth-fastest time in the MWC this season.
The women came in ninth, while the men did not have a team score recorded.
UP NEXT
Ripon returns home for the annual Red Hawk Invite on Saturday, February 3 at 11 a.m. inside the Willmore Center.
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