RIPON, Wis. -- The Ripon College men's track & field team was picked fifth in the 2025-26 Midwest Conference Men's Track & Field Preseason Coaches Poll, as announced by the conference Thursday morning.
Cornell earned the top spot with 53 points and a pair of first-place votes, edging out Monmouth (52 points, five first-place votes) and Grinnell (51 points, two first-place votes) in one of the closest preseason projections the league has seen in recent years. Illinois College followed in fourth with 44 points, while Ripon completed the top five with 43.
The Red Hawks return three All-Midwest Conference performers from last season: seniors Finley Manning (St. Johns, Newfoundland, Canada, Holy Heart of Mary HS) and Isaac San Diego (Vail, Colo., Eagle Valley HS), along with junior Seth Bunders (Wauzeka, Wis., Wauzeka-Steuben HS). Manning and San Diego both contributed key scoring performances during the 2024-25 campaign, while Bunders made an immediate impact as one of the conference's top young multi-event and field talents. Their return provides Ripon with a strong core as the program aims to outperform its preseason position. The 2025-26 season marks the first under new Head Coach Sylviann Momont.
The full poll is listed below:
Men's Track & Field
- Cornell College (2 first-place votes) – 53 points
- Monmouth College (5) – 52 points
- Grinnell College (2) – 51 points
- Illinois College – 44 points
- Ripon College – 43 points
- Beloit College – 29 points
- Lawrence University – 28 points
- Lake Forest College – 13 points
- Knox College – 11 points
The Red Hawks open the 2025-26 campaign this Saturday, Dec 6, hosting the Ripon Winter Open at 11 a.m. inside the Willmore Center.
