COLFAX, Wis. -- The Ripon men's and women's cross country programs ran their toughest races to date on Saturday, competing at the NCAA Division III North Regional, delivering strong performances in one of the deepest fields in the country. The Red Hawk women earned a 9th-place team finish out of 30 programs -- the best North Regional finish in program history -- while the men placed 21st of 31.
Sophomore Joley Berger (Dunbar, Wis., Pembine HS) led the women with an outstanding all-region performance, placing 11th in the 6k with a time of 22:15.1. Senior Jenny Cortes (Round Lake, Ill., Round Lake HS) followed close behind in 14th, running 22:19.2 to put two Red Hawks inside the top 15. Junior Gabby Allard (Appleton, Wis., Kimberly HS) scored next in 63rd at 23:46.7, while freshman Sienna Timm (Scandinavia, Wis., Waupaca HS) added a 120th-place finish in 24:56.6. Freshman Leah Page (Ripon, Wis., Ripon HS) rounded out Ripon's top five in 135th, clocking a 25:15.7. Junior Ximena Juarez (Addison, Ill., Addison Trail HS) placed 90th in 24:19.4, and junior Mya Garcia () finished 152nd at 25:40.3.
On the men's side, senior Jeremy Saloun (Portage, Wis., Portage HS) once again paced the Red Hawks, placing 106th in the 8k with a time of 27:12.5. Freshman Finn Lettau (Neenah, Wis., Neenah HS) followed in 108th at 27:20.1, while sophomore Jaxon Hornby (Marshall, Wis., Marshall HS) and freshman Michael Corral Rasco (Aurora, Colo., Vista Peak Prep) finished in 119th (27:38.2) and 122nd (27:40.2). Sophomore Aiden Brobst (Freeport, Ill., Freeport HS) added a 142nd-place effort in 28:05.1, and freshman Nathan Johnson (Neenah, Wis., Neenah HS) rounded out Ripon's scoring in 149th, clocking 28:21.9. Freshman Drew Kaufmann (Watertown, Wis., Watertown HS) also contributed with a 169th-place finish in 29:15.7.
The North Regional annually features some of the nation's top Division III distance programs, and this year was no different. Saturday's competitive field provided a fitting stage for the Red Hawks to cap their fall campaign -- especially for the women's program, which made history with its highest finish ever.
Ripon now awaits to see if it will be awarded any bids into the NCAA Championships held next Saturday, Nov 22 in Spartanburg, SC. Full selections will be announced on Sunday, Nov 16.
