RIPON, Wis. -- The Ripon NCAA Final Qualifier + Multi brought several strong performances from the Ripon College men's and women's track and field teams as they hosted competitors Friday and Saturday at the Willmore Center.
Ripon athletes recorded multiple event victories and top finishes throughout the meet while looking to post late-season marks ahead of the national qualifying window.
On the women's side, senior Jenny Cortes (Round Lake, Ill., Round Lake HS) highlighted the weekend with a record-breaking performance in the 800 meters. Cortes won the event in 2:13.95, breaking her own school record by four-tenths of a second, previously set in 2024. Junior Madylyn Woyak (Wautoma, Wis., Wautoma HS) followed with a fifth-place finish in 2:22.21, while junior Minnie Hoffman (Oostburg, Wis., Oostburg HS) placed sixth in 2:26.09. In the distance events, junior Ximena Juarez Martinez (Addison, Ill., Addison Trail HS) placed fourth in the 3000 meters with a time of 10:47.62.
Ripon also found success in the field events. Junior Sidney Hoffa (Coloma, Wis., Westfield Area HS) captured the long jump title with a leap of 5.35 meters and added a fourth-place finish in the 60-meter dash final in 8.32 seconds. Freshman Shelby Buddenhagen (Reedsburg, Wis., Reedsburg Area HS) led a strong showing in the pole vault, winning the event by clearing 2.75 meters, while freshman Meredith Clark (Green Lake, Wis., Green Lake HS) finished second at 2.45 meters. In the high jump, junior Chloe Studinski (Oshkosh, Wis., Lourdes Academy) cleared 1.64 meters to place second while also finishing fifth in the 60-meter dash.
On the men's side, Ripon swept the top three spots in the 400 meters. Sophomore Kaden Taddey (Eden, Wis., Campbellsport HS) led the way with a winning time of 55.21 seconds, followed by freshman Gus Josephson (Mellen, Wis., Mellen HS) in second (57.47) and freshman Ilan Anderson (Glenwood City, Wis., Glenwood City HS) in third (57.72). Josephson also added a ninth-place finish in the 200 meters.
In the sprints, senior Finley Manning (St. Johns, Newfoundland, Canada, Holy Heart of Mary HS) and junior Elijah Barajas (Racine, Wis., Racine Horlick HS) both advanced to the finals of the 60-meter dash, finishing fourth (7.39) and fifth (7.43), respectively. Senior Dorian Phillips (Clinton, Wis., Clinton HS) placed second in the 60-meter hurdles final with a time of 8.98 seconds and also finished fifth in the pole vault.
Ripon saw additional strong performances in the distance races as senior Jeremy Saloun (Portage, Wis., Portage HS) finished ninth in the mile (4:31.94), while freshman Drew Kaufmann (Watertown, Wis., Watertown HS) placed 10th in 4:35.12.
The Red Hawks also had several strong marks in the throwing events. Junior Braedy Picard (Neenah, Wis., Xavier HS) won the men's shot put with a throw of 15.26 meters and added a fifth-place finish in the weight throw. Freshman Tanner Paulsen (Wisconsin Dells, Wis., Wisconsin Dells HS) placed third in the weight throw (14.49m), while junior Noah Hanson (Ripon, Wis., Ripon HS) added fourth in the shot put and seventh in the weight throw.
Ripon continued its success in the jumps as sophomore Nick Trzebiatowski (Rosholt, Wis., Rosholt HS) won the triple jump with a mark of 13.41 meters. Freshman Napolean Doster (Miami, Fla., Rockmart HS) also placed fourth in the high jump and eighth in the long jump.
In the multi-events contested earlier in the meet, senior Nicole Arnold (Hampton, N.Y., Granville HS) finished third in the pentathlon with 2,650 points, while freshman Ren Fritz (Bozeman, Mont., Gallatin HS) placed fourth with 2,415 points.
