DE PERE, Wis. -- The Ripon track & field programs went to De Pere twice this week, competing in the smaller SNC Mid-Week Invite before the 11-team SNC Invitational, taking 7th on both sides in the latter. Braedy Picard (Neenah, Wis., Xavier HS) led the men with a best-in-conference 15.69m throw in the Shot Put at the SNC Invitational, while Jenny Cortes (Round Lake, Ill., Round Lake HS) led the women with a first place, 2:16.33 finish in the 800m, just seconds off her school record. 

The week started well for the Red Hawks, thanks to solid finishes across multiple events at the Mid-Week invite. Sophomore Aiden Brobst (Freeport, Ill., Freeport HS) took first in the men's 800m, beating freshman teammates Parker Blakeslee (Sterling, Ill., Sterling HS) and Michael Corral Rascon (Aurora, Colo., Vista Peak Preparatory) by less than a second with a 1:59.53 finish. Senior Chloe Studinski (Oshkosh, Wis., Lourdes Academy) carried on her string of success in the High Jump, topping a 1.57m height to win the event. Finally, sophomore Brady Immel (Winneconne, Wis., Winneconne HS) led the men's field events with a 44.24m winning throw in the Discus, besting second place by more than a meter and a half. 

The Red Hawks faced steeper competition in the weekend's SNC Invitational, which included both Division II and III programs. Sophomore Jaxon Hornby (Marshall, Wis., Marshall HS) earned points for Ripon in the men's 5000m, finishing 4th with a time of 15:42.77, while teammates Jeremy Saloun (Portage, Wis., Portage HS) and Finn Lettau (Neenah, Wis., Neenah HS) were close behind, taking 5th and 6th with times of 15:46.09 and 15:49.19, respectively. In the men's 110m hurdles, junior Zak Ladage (Chatham, Ill., Lutheran High School) recorded a strong third place finish, running a 15.56 in the event. While Cortes's win in the 800m proved to be the best track finish of the day, junior Ximena Juarez Martinez (Addison, Ill., Addison Trail HS) also put up points for the women's team in the 3000m, finishing in third with a 10:44.32 time, while freshman Leah Page (Ripon, Wis., Ripon HS) came in fifth for the event with a 11:00.37. In addition to his 4th place display in the Shot Put, Picard earned Ripon a point with a 45.85m result in the Hammer Throw, while Immel and sophomore Noah Hanson (Ripon, Wis., Ripon HS) each scored for Ripon in the Discus, rounding out a strong week of field displays for the men's program. 

Ripon track returns to action this coming Friday, May 1, for the Fox River showdown hosted by Lawrence University.