OSHKOSH, Wis. -- The Red Hawks delivered a series of strong performances Saturday at the UW-Oshkosh Titan Challenge, highlighted by podium finishes, personal improvements, and competitive relay action against a talented field.
On the women's side, senior Jenny Cortes (Round Lake, Ill., Round Lake HS) led the way with a runner-up finish in the 800 meters. Cortes crossed the line in 2:16.14 to secure second place, capping off a strong effort in a tightly contested race. Junior Minnie Hoffman (Oostburg, Wis., Oostburg HS) also scored in the event, placing eighth with a time of 2:21.80 to give Ripon two top-eight finishers in the middle-distance event.
Cortes returned to the track later in the meet to anchor the 4x400-meter relay team alongside junior Madylyn Woyak (Wautoma, Wis., Wautoma HS), sophomore Tatum Trudell (Albany, Ore., South Albany HS), and freshman Ren Fritz (Bozeman, Mont., Gallatin HS). The quartet combined for a time of 4:04.93, placing first overall with a strong finish and continuing to build momentum heading into the championship portion of the season.
In the field events, junior Chloe Studinski (Oshkosh, Wis., Lourdes Academy) cleared 1.54 meters in the high jump to finish fourth overall, while junior Sidney Hoffa (Coloma, Wis., Westfield Area HS) matched that placement on the horizontal side with a fourth-place leap of 5.21 meters in the long jump. Both performances provided valuable points and showcased consistency in the jumps group.
On the men's side, freshman Erik Woodward (Juda, Wis., Broadhead-Juda HS) turned in a standout performance in the 60-meter dash. After placing fifth in the preliminaries with a time of 7.09 seconds, Woodward improved in the finals to 7.06, earning fourth place overall.
The hurdles crew also made noise. Junior Zak Ladage (Chatham, Ill., Lutheran High School) advanced to the finals of the 60-meter hurdles after running 8.69 in prelims (third overall), then elevated his performance with an 8.55 finish to claim second place. Senior Dorian Phillips (Clinton, Wis., Clinton HS) joined him in the finals, clocking 8.98 in prelims before improving to 8.92 to secure fifth place in the final standings.
With several top-five finishes and momentum building across event groups, the Red Hawks now shift their focus to the Midwest Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships. Ripon will travel to Grinnell next Friday and Saturday, Feb 27-28, for the conference meet, where they'll look to carry their strong Titan Challenge performances into championship competition.
