Roundup: Volleyball team holds five-match streak

By Adam Kolb / Co-Sports Editor

Held to just four kills over the first three sets, leading hitter Jenna Thorne came to life when the Hutchinson Community College volleyball team needed her.

Down two sets to one in its Blue Dragon Classic match against Mineral Area, Missouri, Hutchinson’s leading hitter tallied eight kills and three blocks over the final two sets to help the Blue Dragons rally for a five-set victory over the Cardinals.

Hutchinson won its fifth match in a row after a 25-21, 20-25, 20-25, 25-18, 15-7 victory over the Cardinals. This was Hutchinson’s second five-set win this season as the Blue Dragons improved to 11-5.

Women’s Track – She had to wait a day until it was official, but multi-event athlete Rebeca Reymundo is a NJCAA Indoor Track and Field national qualifier.

Reymundo finished fifth in the Region 6 pentathlon on Friday with a score of 2,217 points. Reymundo’s score was good for 12th place, which punched her ticket to the NJCAA Championships.

The Blue Dragons finished eighth at the Region 6 Indoor Championships at Pittsburg State’s Plaster Center. Hutchinson scored 32 team points, and the Blue Dragons were third in the Jayhawk West standings with 78 points. Reymundo is the only Blue Dragon women’s national qualifier, and is a two-year qualifier in the pentathlon.

The NJCAA Indoor Championships will be March 5-6 in Pittsburg.

Men’s Track – Freshman Zach Biel and sophomore Teagan Flanagan both punched tickets to the NJCAA Indoor Championships on Sunday at the Region 6 Championships in Pittsburg.

Biel cleared a career-best 6 feet, 6 ¾ inches in the high jump. He was the Region 6 runner-up and won the Jayhawk West Championship. Biel also became the fifth Blue Dragon national qualifier.

Flanagan qualified in his second event this season when he finished sixth in the 3,000 meters. Already qualified in the 5,000, Flanagan ran a 3,000 time of 8:47.28. Biel and Flanagan helped the Blue Dragons finish seventh in the Region 6 men’s standings. Hutchinson scored 40 points, and finished third in the Jayhawk West standings with 92.5 points.

Women’s Basketball– Sophomore Nafatoumata Haidara posted her first career double-double and helped the No. 21-ranked women’s basketball team move into a first-place tie in the Jayhawk West on Monday night at the Sports Arena.

Haidara led three Blue Dragons in double figures and the Blue Dragons held Dodge City to 30.2 percent shooting in a 68-50 win over the Conquistadors. The victory was Hutchinson’s 15th-straight over Dodge City at the Sports Arena.

Sophomore Tor’e Alford scored 14 points on 4 of 7 3-point shooting. Sophomore Kate Ogle was the third Blue Dragon in double figures with 13 points, on 5 of 7 shooting, and added seven rebounds.

The Blue Dragons improved to 6-2 overall and are now tied with Seward County atop the Jayhawk West standings with a 5-2 record. The Blue Dragons have a short turnaround with a road trip to Northwest Kansas Tech at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday in Goodland.

Men’s Basketball – The Blue Dragons shot better than 50 percent for the fourth-straight game and posted a season-high offensive output for the second-straight game, and moved into a tie for first place in the Jayhawk West Monday night. Sophomore Matt Mayers led five Hutchinson players in double figures as the Blue Dragons defeated Dodge City, 102-95.

Sophomore Majok Kuath had 22 points on 9 of 12 shooting. Sophomore Stephan Gabriel had 18 points on 7 of 10 shooting. Jaden Okon and Isaiah Budjoso had 10 points each, while Mayers led the way with 35 points and 13 rebounds.

The Blue Dragons improved to 6-3 overall and tied Dodge City for first place in the Jayhawk West at 5-3 heading into Wednesday’s road contest at Northwest Tech.

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