Hutchinson CC Sports Information

The Hutchinson Community College men's cross country team looks to defend its 2018 Region VI championship on Saturday when the 2019 Championships are contested on Saturday.

The 2019 Region VI Cross Country championships will be hosted by Allen Community College in Iola. The men's race starts at 10 a.m. and women's race at 11 a.m.

The Blue Dragon men are ranked No. 7 in the latest USFTCCCA NJCAA Division I rankings. Hutchinson's women are No. 15 in the women's poll.

Hutchinson's men burst onto the national scene one year ago when the Blue Dragons won their first Region VI title since 1996 and Andrew Kibet became Hutch's first individual champion in 37 years.

Only Cloud County is ranked higher than the Blue Dragons from Region VI in the national rankings and the Thunderbirds are No. 1 in the nation. Hutch has yet to beat Cloud County, but was edged by only one point at the Emporia State Invitational in late September.

Kibet and fellow sophomore Sylvestre Kibarar have been the top two runners for the Blue Dragons this season with sophomore Brett Hillabrand a strong third runner. Several freshmen stepped up for the Blue Dragons two weeks ago at the Fort Hays State Tiger Open.

Teagan Flanagan and Austin Lorenzo came up big for the Dragons at the Tiger Open, as well as sophomore Jeffrey Klopf.

The men's field will have No. 1 Cloud County, No. 7 Hutchinson, No. 12 Butler, No. 20 Pratt and No. 21 Colby.

The Blue Dragon women put tighter their best race of 2019 two weeks ago at the Tiger Open as Hutchinson finished second.

Sheila Too and All-American Gabby Collins have been the consistent 1-2 runners for the Hutch women. First-year runners Christina Bruce, Megan Miller, Brooklyn Terstriep and Natalie Schroeder all posted season-best times two weeks ago.

The Blue Dragons enter the women's race as the third highest-ranked team in the region. Ahead of Hutch is Cowley at No. 7 and Butler at No. 12. Pratt is No. 20 and Colby is No. 21.

Hutchinson has finished third in the region in the past two seasons and is the defending Jayhawk West team champion.