RIPON, Wis. – Coming off another strong year of growth and championship contention, the Ripon College women's track & field team was selected to finish tied for second in the 2025-26 Midwest Conference Preseason Coaches Poll, as announced by the conference Thursday afternoon.
Grinnell topped the poll with 53 points and three first-place votes, while Illinois College (four first-place votes) and Ripon (one first-place vote) shared the No. 2 spot with 50 points apiece. Monmouth followed closely in fourth with 47 points and a first-place vote, underscoring a tightly packed group of contenders entering the indoor season.
Ripon returns 10 All-Midwest Conference performers, giving the Red Hawks one of the deepest groups of proven scorers in the league: seniors Jenny Cortes (Round Lake, Ill., Round Lake HS) and Nicole Arnold (Hampton, N.Y., Granville HS), juniors Heleyna Weiss (Cedarburg, Wis., Living Word Lutheran HS), Madylyn Woyak (Wautoma, Wis., Wautoma HS), Minnie Hoffman (Oostburg, Wis., Oostburg HS), Chloe Studinski (Oshkosh, Wis., Lourdes Academy), Gabby Allard (Appleton, Wis., Kimberly HS), Sidney Hoffa (Coloma, Wis., Westfield Area HS), and sophomores Joley Berger (Dunbar, Wis., Pembine HS) and Tatum Trudell (Albany, Ore., South Albany HS). Cortes, now a senior, qualified for the 2024 NCAA Division III Indoor Championships in the 800-meter run, becoming the first woman in program history to reach the indoor national meet solely in a running event. The junior-heavy roster provides strength across sprints, jumps, throws, and mid-distance events, giving Ripon balanced depth across event groups.
The 2025-26 season marks the first under head coach Sylviann Momont, who takes over the program after the Red Hawks' recent run of conference success and national qualifiers.
The full poll is listed below:
Women's Track & Field
1. Grinnell College (3 first-place votes) – 53 points
T2. Illinois College (4) – 50 points
T2. Ripon College (1) – 50 points
4. Monmouth College (1) – 47 points
5. Cornell College – 46 points
6. Lawrence University – 31 points
7. Beloit College – 24 points
8. Lake Forest College – 13 points
9. Knox College – 10 points
The Red Hawks open the 2025-26 season on Saturday, Dec 6, hosting the Ripon Winter Open at 11 a.m. inside the Willmore Center.
