Sports roundup: Last Chance Who? HutchCC beats Independence

By Amanda Carney
Co-Sports Editor

The Hutchinson Community College football team managed another win Saturday night, against a top-five, nationally-ranked team, as the Blue Dragons won at Independence Community College, 37-27.

This was the first time in 23 years that HutchCC has accomplished beating a top-five nationally ranked team. This puts the Blue Dragons at 2-0 in the Jayhawk Conference.

The Blue Dragons dominated the first half. Tied 7-7, the Dragons went on to score 30-unanswered points.

Starting the third quarter, Independence slowly started to take over. Independence outscored the Blue Dragons 20-0 in the second half.

Jaylen Erwin and Khalil McClain both had two touchdowns, while Dezmon Jackson had one. Defensively, Monty Montgomery and Josh Reliford both had interceptions.

The Blue Dragons next game is Saturday, against Iowa Western Community College at Gowans Stadium.

Men’s cross country – The men’s cross country team made some Blue Dragon history on Friday. The Blue Dragons won their first team championship since 2016.

Andrew Kibe lead the way for the Blue Dragons winning the 2018 season-opening Terry Masterson Twilight Classic, with a time of 19 minutes, 32.7 seconds.

Hutch then took over having four Blue Dragons place seventh through 10th. Sophomore Connor Kaufman was seventh in a time of 21:13.19. Freshman Brett Hillabrand was eighth in 21:39.83. Sophomore Kade Gerlach was ninth in 21:47.99 and sophomore Jared Stark was 10th in 21:50.81.

Hutchinson lead the way scoring 29 team points. Runner-up Cloud County had 38 points, followed by Dodge City with 81, Pratt with 114 and McPherson College with 115.

Women’s cross country – The women also had six runners finish in the top 10 Friday, allowing them to win the Terry Masterson Twilight Classic.

The Blue Dragons also had the lowest team score last Friday, with a team score of 25 points. Dodge City, followed with 57 points, with Pratt behind them with 62 points and McPherson College was fourth with 91 points.

Hutchinson freshman Lisayo Ewoi pulled away in the last couple yards, finishing with a time of 18:32.8. In fourth place was sophomore Aileen Gomez with a time of 19:49.4, and behind her was Freshman Gabby Collins placing fifth with a time of 19:55.5. Then sophomore Sarah Patteson placed sixth 19:58.6. Sophomore America Garcia finished eighth with a time of 20:20.0. Sophomore Macy Linenberger was 13th with a time of 20:49.2. Sophomore Ashton Schlickau was 17th with a time of 21:32.0. Caitlin Schlickau was 18th with a time of 21:38.0. Carissa Youngs finished 27th with a time of 23:02.

Soccer – The women’s soccer team managed to smash North Iowa, 11-0, on Saturday at Salthawk Sports Complex. The first four goals were scored within the first eight minutes of the game.

Sophomore Brailey Moeder started off the game with a goal, assist from the goalkeeper, Yadira Delgado. After a goal from sophomore Megan Maslak, Moeder followed with a second goal. Then, freshman Addi White scored the third goal, first goal of the season for her.

The Blue Dragons are now 2-0, moving on to the next game Wednesday against Northwest Kansas Technical College, at Goodland

Volleyball – The volleyball team started in a struggle to get into its groove in the first two sets against Pratt. The Blue Dragons rebounded and finished with a three-set sweep, as they improved to 3-3 and 2-0 in the Jayhawk West.

Here’s a recap of the three sets.

Set 1 – The Blue Dragons started the first set with a lead of 4-2. Pratt pulled it to 11-10 until Sophomore Lexi Hogan had a kill, allowing the Dragons to bounce back. They won the set 25-23.

Set 2 – Lauren Wilson helped the Blue Dragons to another set victory, coming off the bench with a kill. Later, Wilson had another kill, which gave Hutch a 23-20 lead. Hutch then missed three set points, but yet again Wilson had a kill. The Blue Dragons won 28-26.

Set 3 – The Blue Dragons finally got in a groove with back-to-back blocks from Hydeah Hinesman and Eden Hiebert. Hutch won 25-12.

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