BLUE DRAGON MEN REMAIN IN TOP 5 IN NATIONAL RANKINGS

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

The Hutchinson Community College men's cross country team remained No. 5 in the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association's NJCAA Division I Men's Cross Country rankings for the second-straight week.

Coming off a third-place finish at the Region 6 Preview on the course of the upcoming Region 6 Championships stayed at No. 5.

Hutchinson opened the season No. 10 in the preseason rankings. The Blue Dragons climbed to No. 9 and then jumped four spots to No. 5 after a Top 10 finish in the university division at the Chili Pepper Festival.

Dennis Cherioiyut, Cornelius Kogo and Titus Kiprotich have been the top runners for the Dragons this season, including a record-setting performance by Kiprotich last week at the Region 6 Preview.

The Blue Dragons are the second-highest ranked KJCCC team in the final regular-season rankings. Butler is fourth and Hutchinson is fifth in the rankings. In the teams' two matchups at 8,000 meters, each team has played higher than the other once each.

Other KJCCC teams ranked are Garden City at No. 11 and Colby at No. 19.

Salt Lake and Iowa Western are Nos. 1 and 2, respectively. There are only three points separating the two teams. El Paso is No. 3 in the national rankings.

The Blue Dragons will run next at the 2024 Region 6 championships next Friday, October 25 at the Kansas Veterans Home in Winfield.

USTFCCCA/NJCAA DIVISION I WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY RANKINGS
1. Salt Lake (6) 196
2. Iowa Western (4) 193
3. El Paso 179
4. Butler 172
5. Hutchinson 155
6. New Mexico Junior College 146
6. Crowder 146
8. Central Arizona 131
9. Iowa Central 114
10. Odessa 109
11. Garden City 94
12. College of Southern Idaho 85
13. Indian Hills 76
14. Fort Hays Tech Northwest 59
15. Snow 57
16. North Central Texas 54
17. Amarillo 36
18. Vincennes 30
19. Colby 24
20. Southern Nevada 18