DE PERE, Wis. -- The Ripon College men's and women's cross country teams opened their 2026 seasons with strong performances Saturday at the Tom Barry Invitational, hosted by St. Norbert College at the Shorewood Cross Country Course.
The Ripon women captured the team title, finishing first out of seven teams with 24 points. The Red Hawks placed six runners among the top 13 overall, including five scoring runners in the top 12.
Junior Joley Berger (Dunbar, Wis., Pembine HS) led the way for Ripon, winning the individual 5K title with a time of 18:33.43. Senior Gabby Allard (Appleton, Wis., Kimberly HS) followed in eighth at 20:17.56, while sophomore Leah Page (Ripon, Wis., Ripon HS) finished ninth at 20:17.76. Freshman Addy Baird (Ripon, Wis., Ripon HS) placed 10th in 20:20.62, and senior Mya Garcia (Chino Hills, Calif., Brea Olinda HS) rounded out the scoring five in 12th with a time of 20:28.45. Senior Ximena Juarez (Addison, Ill., Addison Trail HS) added another strong performance, finishing 13th in 20:30.56.
The Ripon women finished with a team time of 1:39:57.82 and an average time of 19:59.57, finishing 22 points ahead of second-place St. Norbert.
On the men's side, Ripon earned a second-place finish among eight teams with 60 points. The Red Hawks put five runners in the top 35 overall, led by junior Dylan Malmgren (Love Park, Ill., Beloit College), who finished 11th in the 6K with a time of 19:41.40.
Sophomore Michael Corral Rasco (Aurora, Colo., Vista Peak Prep) followed closely behind in 13th at 19:46.09, while junior Aiden Brobst (Freeport, Ill., Freeport HS) placed 17th in 19:54.92. Sophomore Nathan Johnson (Neenah, Wis., Neenah HS) finished 27th in 20:17.40, and junior Jaxon Hornby (Marshall, Wis., Marshall HS) completed the scoring five in 28th at 20:19.21. Sophomore Finn Lettau (Neenah, Wis., Neenah HS) added a 34th-place finish in 20:31.85.
Ripon finished with a team time of 1:39:59.02 and an average of 19:59.81, finishing behind team champion MSOE.
The Red Hawks will return to action Saturday, Sept 18, at the Oshkosh Classic. The meet is scheduled for 5:45pm at UW-Oshkosh.
