[ By STEVE CARPENTER ]
[ BLUE DRAGON SPORTS INFORMATION ]
LAWRENCE, Kan. — After not competing in 2018, Hutchinson Community College sophomore Hannah Smith announced her return with authority Saturday at the Jayhawk Classic.
Smith finished third in the weight throw with a distance of 52 feet, one-half inch. That mark wasn’t only a national qualifying mark, but a Blue Dragon school record. Smith bested the 2016 mark of 51-8 set by Paige Houston.
Smith was one of two Blue Dragons to earn automatic spots in the NJCAA Indoor Championships in March. Four other performances found their way onto the Blue Dragon all-time Top 10 indoor charts.
Sophomore Jewell Bolden had a strong day for the Blue Dragons. She ran the third-fastest qualifying time in the 60-meter hurdles. Her time of 9.17 seconds was a national qualifying mark. She then topped that performance with a time of 9.13 seconds in the finals to finish fifth, but run the third-fastest time in indoor Blue Dragon history.
Bolden also finished fifth in the long jump with a leap of 17-8. That mark is the eighth-best in Blue Dragon indoor history.
Freshman Sheila Too placed third in the 3,000 meters with a time 11:23.59. She ran the third-fastest time in Blue Dragon indoor history.
Freshman Gabby Collins was sixth in the 1,000 meters in 3:18.18. That mark was the seventh-best in team history.
Collins then joined Sarah Patteson, Christina Bruce and Lisayo Ewoi to finish fourth in the Distance Medley Relay with a time of 13:29.91 and post the sixth-fastest time in Blue Dragon history.
On the men’s side, freshman sprinter Jared Scott turned in an impressive Blue Dragon debut as the Hutchinson Community College sprinter produced two national qualifying marks in the 2019 indoor season opener on Saturday at the Jayhawk Classic.
Scott finished second in the 60 meters and won the 200 meters at the University of Kansas’ Anschutz Sports Pavilion. He was one of three Blue Dragon men to turn in four NJCAA Indoor National Championship qualifying marks.
Scott won the Jayhawk Classic 200 meters with a national qualifying time of 21.98 seconds. That was the eighth-fastest time in Blue Dragon indoor history.
Scott produced the top preliminary time of 6.85 seconds in the 60 meters. That also was a national qualifying mark and the eighth-fastest time in Blue Dragon indoor history. Scott finished second in the finals with a time of 6.91 seconds.
Sophomore Elijah Smith finished fifth in the 600-yard run with a time of 1:15.05. When his time is converted to 600 meters, Smith broke the Blue Dragon record for 600 meters and turned in a national qualifying mark of 1:16.17.
The fourth Blue Dragon qualifier is freshman Sylvestre Kibarar, who placed eighth in the 3,000 meters. His time of 8:49.70 is a national qualifying mark and the eighth-fastest time in Blue Dragon indoor history.
The Blue Dragons will run at two different meets next weekend. Part of the team will run at the Husker Invitational in Lincoln, Nebraska and another group will run at the Fred Beile Classic in Crete, Nebraska.