BLUE DRAGON RUNNERS GO AFTER BIG PRIZES ON SATURDAY
Hutchinson CC Sports Information
FORT DODGE, Iowa – After every race this season, the results the Hutchinson Community College cross country teams produced made third-year head coach Jafet Molinares think about what could be in 2025.
Molinares' season-long questions will be answered Saturday as the No. 2-ranked Blue Dragon men's cross country team and fifth-ranked women's cross country teams will run in the 2025 NJCAA Division I National Championships.
The championships will be contested at Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge, Iowa. The men's Division I 8K race begins at Noon and the Division I women's 5A race begins at 1 p.m.
BLUE DRAGON CROSS COUNTRY
NJCAA Division I National Championships
When: Saturday, November 8, 2025
Where: Lakeside Golf Course, Fort Dodge, Iowa
Men's Division I Race (8K): Noon
Women's Division Race (5K): 1 p.m.
Live Timing: Wazamatiming.com
On Friday night at the NJCAA Cross Country banquet, Blue Dragon sophomore Cornelius Kogo was named the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USFTCCCA) men's Central District Runner of the Year. Blue Dragon freshman Mildred Rono was named the Central District Women's Runner of the Year.
Both Kogo and Rono won their respective Region 6 championships two weeks ago in Colby and led both Blue Dragon teams to regional team championships.
WOMEN'S PREVIEW
The Blue Dragon women moved up three spots to No. 5 in the final national rankings after winning a Region 6 championship for the second time in four seasons.
Odessa is the heavy favorite to win the women's team title with Iowa Western, El Paso, New Mexico Junior College and Hutchinson filling out the national top five.
Rono has been the clear No. 1 runner for the Blue Dragons with three race titles, one regional championship and two Blue Dragon 5K team records to her credit.
But it was at October 11 matchup with Iowa Western's Juliana Sakat that may provide some added incentive on Saturday. Rono was edged by Sakat for the individual title at the FHSU Tiger Open by a mere 1.1 second in that race.
The Blue Dragon women produced team scores in only 2 of 4 races this season. But at the Region 6 championships, the addition of freshman Mali Lovett, who returned from injury for the regional, gives the Blue Dragons a legitimate shot at a Top 5 finish. Lovett placed eighth at Region 6 with a time of 18:52.8.
Freshman Ashara Foster also played a huge role at regionals with a fourth-place performance.
The Blue Dragon women have one team national championship to their credit, winning the NJCAA Division II title in 2001. Hutchinson's Top Division I finish was sixth place in 2024.
MEN'S PREVIEW
The top five teams in the final USTFCCCA/NJCAA Division I national rankings had Iowa Western, Hutchinson, Iowa Central, New Mexico Junior College and Butler as teams one through five and the favorites to battle for the 2025 team championship.
Hutchinson has rank against Iowa Western and Butler this season. The Blue Dragons were edged by Iowa Western by two points at the FHSU Tiger Open on October 11. The Dragons defeated Butler by five points at the Region 6 championship.
The Blue Dragons have won three races this season, winning the Terry Masterson Twilight Classic, the Missouri Southern Stampede and the Region 6 Championships.
Kogo and fellow sophomore Titus Kiprotich have consistently been the Blue Dragons top two runners this season. Kogo won the Masterson and Region 6 individual titles and has three Top 3 finishes this season. Kiprotich also has three Top 3 finishes and two runner-up places this season.
Sophomore Farin Mangelson (sixth place at regionals), freshman Esteban Ortega and freshman Esteban Oses Campus have also been consistently the other Blue Dragons to figure into the team scoring.
The Blue Dragons are back to full strength entering nationals. Sophomore Dennis Cheruiyot finished 10th at nationals last season and missed all of the 2025 track and field season and the first two meets this season. Cheruiyot's first race this season was at Fort Hays State and raced closer to his freshman form with a 15th-place finish at Region 6.
Hutchinson's top national finish was third in 1962 and 2024.