RIPON, Wis. – Friday marked the beginning of the Ripon NCAA Final Qualifier, a two-day event designed to give student-athletes one last chance to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. The event, one of several around the nation, featured athletes from all NCAA divisions from all across the country. The event, one of several around the nation, featured athletes from all NCAA divisions from all across the country, making for a stacked field.
 
It also gives athletes the chance to compete in the multis, and that's where the Yellowjackets were in action Friday.
 
Two Yellowjackets – Bel Dimaze (Monticello, Minn./Spectrum) and Riley Toivonen (Grand Rapids, Minn./Grand Rapids) took part in the women's pentathlon Friday, and each had a good day in finishing sixth and seventh, respectively.
 
Dimaze finished sixth on the day with a total of 1,900 points. She placed seventh but posted a new personal record in the 60-meter hurdles, coming in with a time of 11.65 seconds. She placed fifth in the high jump, clearing a height of 1.45 meters. Dimaze had sixth-place finishes in the long jump (4.34 meters) and 800-meter run (3:14.42). She rounded the day out with a seventh-place finish in the shot put, posting a mark of 5.95 meters.
 
Toivonen had a pair of personal records Friday, both coming in the field events. In the high jump, Toivonen cleared a height of 1.27 meters. She also earned a new personal record in the shot put, with a heave of 7.34 meters. She placed seventh and sixth, respectively. Toivonen also had a sixth-place finish in the 60-meter hurdles, finishing with a time of 11.20 seconds. Toivonen had a time of 3:36.32 in the 800-meter run and hit a mark of 4.11 meters in the long jump.
 
A larger contingent of Yellowjacket track and field student-athletes will be in action Saturday on the second day of the Ripon NCAA Final Qualifier.