(HCC Sports Information)

The only opportunity for Blue Dragon fans to see the Hutchinson Community College men’s and women’s cross country teams compete at home will be Saturday morning.

The second annual Blue Dragon Cross Country Invitational will be contested at Rice Park. The women’s race begins at 10 a.m. and the men’s race will start approximately at 10:45 a.m.

There will be a four-team field for the Blue Dragon Invitational. McPherson College, Barclay College and Pratt Community College will join the HCC cross country teams at Rice Park.

The men’s course will cover 5.6K, while the women’s course will measure 3.8K.

Last season, both Hutchinson men’s and women’s teams won team titles. The Blue Dragon men are 17th in this week’s NJCAA Hill N Dale national rankings. The Lady Dragons are ranked 20th.

Several runners are back for the Blue Dragon men. Defending men’s champion Skylar Gutierrez won’t be in the field. He will miss action for a third-straight week with an injury.

Sophomore Nic Rogers is the top returning Blue Dragon runner from last season’s invitational after a season’s-best fourth-place finish. Julio Martinez was sixth, Brandon Massey was seventh and Kyle Sooter was 16th.

Freshmen have led the way in Hutchinson’s first two meets of the year. Austin Lettau has been the Blue Dragons’ No. 1 runner in both races.

Sophomore Alexis Davis is the only returning Lady Dragon runner to compete in last season’s home meet. Davis finished 12th overall.

Freshmen have also been pacing the Lady Dragons in 2011. Maria Fernandez and Diosha Johnson have been HCC’s top two finishers in each meet this season.

This will be the final season that the Blue Dragon Invitational will be contested at Rice Park. Next season the Blue Dragons move into their brand new course on the east side of Hutchinson near Westar Energy on Lucille Avenue.