Sports roundup: Mya Williams reaches milestone

By Laci Sutton / Staff writer

Hutchinson Community College sophomore Mya Williams led the Blue Dragons to their sixth consecutive win while she became the sixth women’s basketball player to reach 1,000 career points during a game against Cloud County on Sunday at the Sports Arena, beating the Thunderbirds 75-66.

Williams reached her milestone with a free throw during the third quarter with 3 minutes, 14 seconds left to play. She went 11 of 12 from the free-throw line and hit 5 of 14 overall shots with two 3-pointers for a game-high total of 23 points.

Other leading scorers for the Blue Dragons included freshman Journey Armstead with 17 points, and sophomores Kali Howard with 13 points and Morgan Browning with nine points. The Blue Dragons shot 36.5 percent and out-rebounded Cloud County 44-36.

The Blue Dragons are now 10-0 at home this season, winning 11 straight games in the Sports Arena, placing them 16-4 overall and 10-4 in the Jayhawk Conference. Sunday’s victory leaves the Blue Dragons 48-28 all-time against Cloud County.

Men’s Basketball – Sunday’s game against Cloud County proved to be a power struggle, resulting in a 88-82 victory for the Blue Dragons.

The Thunderbirds opened the game with an eight-point lead. Sophomore Ra’Sean Frederick put a stop to their run with a 3-pointer with 16:41 left in the first quarter. The battle continued with the Blue Dragons taking a 47-34 lead at halftime. Hutchinson opened the second half with a 5-0 run, but the Thunderbirds were quick to answer with an 8-0 run. The Blue Dragons closed out the game, taking the win with the final eight points scored in the last 39 seconds.

Aaron Franklin and Jayden Garrison shared the game-point lead with 37 points each. Other notable scorers of the game included Frederick with 13 points, freshman Antonio Green with eight points, and Kerran Bundy and Christain Carroll with seven points each.

The Blue Dragons shot 45.8 percent, hitting 12 of 37 from 3-point range and 10 of 16 from the free-throw line. Defensively, the Blue Dragons outrebounded the Thunderbirds 34-24, and created a 24-4 advantage in points off turnovers.

Men’s Indoor Track –

The Blue Dragons men’s indoor track team opened its season at the Washburn Rust Buster Classic at Washburn University with two national qualifications and several other strong performances.

Returning All-American Dimetre Browne took home first place in the men’s long jump, smashing the meet record and earning national qualification with a jump of 24 feet 3.75 inches. This jump was also the fourth-best in Blue Dragon’s men’s indoor long jump program history.

Freshman Christopher Brown finished fifth in the men’s shot put, earning a national qualification with a throw of 50 feet.

Sophomore Darrie Holloway finished seventh in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.41 seconds. Alex Holt and Donovan Bryant tied for eighth in high jump, each clearing 6 feet, 2.75 inches. Caleb Manning took home fourth in triple jump with a jump of 46-4.25. Not far behind, freshman Adrian Dimond took home eighth in triple jump at 44-7.5.

The team will compete Friday and Saturday in the Herm Wilson Invitational at the Wichita State University’s Heskett Center.

Women’s Indoor Track

The women’s track team kicked off the season at the Washburn Rust Buster Classic at Washburn University. Freshman Madelyn Hernandez made an impressive college debut, setting a meet record and becoming the first Blue Dragon women’s athlete to earn a ticket to the 2023 nationals, finishing third in the high jump clearing 5-5.

The Blue Dragons had three other top 10 finishes, including Liberty Limon who placed eighth in high jump with a jump of 5-1 and sixth in the triple jump going 34 feet 7 inches. The 1,600 relay team featuring Kaylee James, Keneah Romney, Taylor Hoskinson, and Gracie Lambert, finishing with a time of 4:11.0

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