RIPON, Wis. -- The Ripon College men's and women's track & field teams opened their indoor campaigns with a strong showing at the Ripon Winter Open on Saturday, highlighted by junior Madylyn Woyak's (Wautoma, Wis., Wautoma HS) record-breaking performance in the women's 600 meters. The Redhawk women placed 5th of 7, while the men turned in an impressive 3rd-place finish out of 10 teams.
Woyak delivered the performance of the day, winning the 600m in 1:40.19, a time that shattered the previous Ripon school record and set an early-season benchmark for the conference field. Ripon dominated the event as a whole, with sophomore Gracie Steffes (Mazon, Ill., Seneca HS; 4th, 1:51.97), senior Nicole Arnhold (Hampton, N.Y., Granville HS; 5th, 1:55.23), and junior Johanna Ibarra (Orland Park, Ill., Carl Sandburg HS; 6th, 2:08.97) helping the Redhawks stack crucial team points.
On the men's side, the Redhawks produced one of their strongest middle-distance showings in recent years. Junior Adisun Romprey (Pearson, Wis., Wabeno HS; 1st, 1:26.14) and freshman Zach Ritter (Stratford, Wis., Stratford Jr/Sr HS; 2nd, 1:28.64) finished 1-2 in the men's 600m, giving Ripon a huge scoring boost. In the sprints, freshman Erik Woodward (Juda, Wis., Broadhead-Juda HS) placed 3rd in the 60m finals (7.14), followed closely by teammate freshman Craige Johnson (Evans, Ga., Greenbrier HS) in 4th (7.29). Junior Zak Ladage (Chatham, Ill., Lutheran High School) added another notable performance with a 2nd-place finish in the 60m hurdles (8.78), while senior Dorian Phillips (Clinton, Wis., Clinton HS) took 5th (8.94).
The women earned additional big points in the jumps, led by junior Sidney Hoffa (Coloma, Wis., Westfield Area HS), who claimed the long jump title with a mark of 5.21m. Freshmen Ren Fritz (Bozeman, Mont., Gallatin HS; 4.88m) and Brooklyn Tranberg (Milwaukee, Wis., Wisconsin Lutheran HS; 4.54m) contributed strong early-season marks as well. In the 300m, the Redhawks added three more scoring performances behind sophomore Tatum Trudell (Albany, Ore., South Albany HS; 2nd, 43.71), Fritz (7th, 45.91), and junior Heleyna Weiss (Cedarburg, Wis. Living Word Lutheran HS; 8th, 46.11).
Field events gave the men steady production throughout the day. Juniors Braedy Picard (Neenah, Wis., Xavier HS; 3rd, 14.08m) and Noah Hanson (Ripon, Wis., Ripon HS; 4th, 13.56m) were standouts in the shot put, while junior Pierce Krowas (Kaukauna, Wis., Fox Valley Lutheran HS; 5th, 14.05m) and Picard (6th, 13.54m) excelled again in the weight throw. Freshman Xander Curtice (Stratford, Ill., Stratford HS) added a key 3rd-place finish in the high jump at 1.75m.
Ripon also placed 6th in the women's 4x400 relay (4:40.57), with a lineup of Steffes, Arnhold, Woyak, and Ibarra, while the men's 4x400 relay saw the Redhawks contend before a late DNF.
With multiple event victories, personal bests, a new school record, and strong depth across running, jumping, and throwing events, the Redhawks leave their home opener with momentum as they look ahead to their next meet, the Ripon Alumni Meet on Saturday, Jan 17, at 12:00 pm.
