MAKALO’S FAST START LEADS DRAGON MEN AT RUST BUSTER

CLICK FOR RUST BUSTER CLASSIC RESULTS

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

TOPEKA – Hutchinson Community College sophomore sprinter Kebba Makalo picked up where he left off from his All-American freshman season on Friday at the Washburn Rust Buster Classic.

Makalo won two events, earned two 2026 NJCAA Indoor qualifying marks and broke a Blue Dragon school record to lead Hutchinson at the 2026 season-opening Washburn Rust Buster Classic at the Snead Indoor Athletic Facility at Washburn University.

Makalo turned in the top time in the NJCAA this season in winning the Rust Buster 200 meters with a school-record time of 21.12 seconds. Makalo beat the 2025 Blue Dragon record by D'Antonio Warren by 0.20 seconds. Makalo's time was also his best career indoor 200-meter time.

The Blue Dragon sprinter won the 60 meters with a time of 6.77 seconds, which tied his indoor personal best time. That mark is fifth in Blue Dragon indoor team history.

Overall on Friday, the Blue Dragons had five national qualifiers and six Blue Dragon all-time Top 10 performances and three event wins at the Rust Buster.

Freshman Jahmari Clifton won the Rust Buster high jump with a clearance of 6 feet, 10 1/2 inches (2.09 meters). Clifton qualified for the NJCAA Indoor championships and he now ranks sixth in Blue Dragon indoor history.

Sophomore distance runners Cornelius Kogo came off his NJCAA Cross Country individual national championship in November with a national qualifying performance on Friday in the 3,000 meters. Kogo placed fourth with a personal-record time of 8:26.55. That mark was fourth fastest in Blue Dragon indoor history and ranked No. 3 in the NJCAA this season.

Sophomore Joshua Sweetnam was the fourth Blue Dragon NJCAA qualifier at the Rust Buster. He posted the second-best mark in Blue Dragon history in the shot put with a fourth-place mark of 54-3 1/4 (16.54 meters). Sweetnam's mark ranks third in the NJCAA this season.

Other top Blue Dragon performances at the Rust Buster:

+ Freshman Ricards Peders placed third in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.29 seconds. That time ranks sixth in Blue Dragon indoor history and just missed the national qualifying standard by 0.09 seconds.

+ Sophomore Lushane Blake posted a PR in the 400 meters with a fourth-place time of 49.49 seconds, the ninth-fastest indoor time in the 400 in Blue Dragon history.

+ Freshman Esteban Ortega had the seventh-fastest Blue Dragon time in the 3,000 meters with an 11th-place time of 8:40.29.

+ Sophomore Karson Engelland posted a career indoor record in the shot put of 45-8 (13.92 meters), which was 11th at the Rust Buster.

The Blue Dragon men's track and field team next compete at the NAIA/JUCO Challenge next Saturday at Pittsburg State's Plaster Center.