Now 24 seasons into his tenure, Chris Young continues to raise the bar on the lofty status he created for the Hutchinson Community College Men’s Golf Team.

After winning the program’s first NJCAA team national championship in 2021, Young and the Blue Dragons doubled up in 2022 to win a second-straight national team championship.

Not only were the 2021 and 2022 seasons historical as a team for the Blue Dragons, but Ben Partridge was the national individual champion in 2021, while Harry Crockett and Dominic Clemens were national individual runners-up in 2021 and 2022, respectively. The Blue Dragons also had seven All-America performances in those two seasons.

The 2023 season saw the Blue Dragons win a fourth-straight Jayhawk Conference title, finish runner-up in Region VI and post a third-straight NJCAA Championship Top 5 performance with a fifth-place showing. Freshman Alex Lindstrom, the Jayhawk Conference individual champion, was named the Phil Mickelson Outstanding Freshman of the Year in 2023.

Only the fourth men’s golf head coach in program history, Young oversaw the switch of competition levels from NJCAA Division II to Division I; that came in his first season in 1999-2000.

Over a span of six months in the 2022-23 season, Young was inducted into two national Halls of Fame. On December 5, 2022, Young was enshrined into the Golf Coaches Association of America Hall of Fame. Then on May 15, 2023, Young was inducted into the NJCAA Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Taking over the Blue Dragon program in 2000, the Dragons suffered through two lean years. But the 2002 season was the first sign that the Blue Dragon men’s golf program was beginning its rise to conference, regional and nationally-elite status. A fourth-place league finish in 2002 was the first upper-division finish since 1989 and the team finished 18th at the NJCAA Tournament.

The fortunes of the Blue Dragon men’s golf program turned around. In Young’s tenure at Hutchinson, the Blue Dragons have:
+ 22 consecutive NJCAA Tournament appearances;
+ 11 Jayhawk Conference team championships (2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023);
+ 9 Region VI team championships (2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2014, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2022);
+ 3 District III team championship (2007, 2009, 2021);
+ 2 NJCAA National Championships;
+ 1 NJCAA Individual National Champion;
+ 2 NJCAA Individual National Runners-Up;
+ 1 Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year winner;
+ 3 Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year finalist;
+ 3 Phil Mickelson National Outstanding Freshman Award winners;
+ 4 Phil Mickelson National Freshman of the Year finalists;
+ 15 NJCAA All-Americans;
+ 18 PING/NJCAA All-Americans;
+ 10 Jayhawk Conference individual league champions;
+ 8 Region VI individual champions;
+ 4 District III individual champion;
+ 11 NJCAA Tournament Top 10 national placings.

BACK-TO-BACK NATIONAL TITLES
The road to a repeat team title started with the Blue Dragons capturing their third-straight Jayhawk Conference and Region VI championships. Hutchinson finished second in the NJCAA District III championship and entered the national tournament ranked No. 3 in the NJCAA Rankings.

Once the Blue Dragons reached the Odessa Country Club for the 2022 NJCAA Championships, they posted a first-round team score of 284 and never looked back. Day 2 of the championship was the decisive day for the Blue Dragons. Under extremely windy and hot conditions, the Blue Dragons exceled while the other contenders struggled as the Blue Dragons shot a 6-under 282 and saw a three-stroke lead after 18 holes mushroom into a 19-stroke team after 36 holes.

The Blue Dragons wound up winning the team championship by a whopping 20 strokes, the largest margin since 2000, with a team score of 1,130, six strokes better than their 2021 winning score.

Dominic Clemons tied for first with a 7-under 281. He lost on the second hole of a playoff for the individual national championships. Ben Partridge placed third and freshman Blake Saffell was fourth as both earned first-team All-America honors. Harry Crockett tied for 14th to earn third-team All-America honors.

In addition to NJCAA honors, both Partridge and Crockett were first-team PING All-Americans in 2022. Partridge repeated as Jayhawk Conference individual champion and Crockett repeated as District III/Region VI champion.

Young was named the Delnor Poss NJCAA Division I National Tournament Coach of the Year for the second-straight season.

As remarkable as the 2022 season was, the 2021 season was, in many ways, more impressive.

From the Blue Dragons shattering team scoring records in the fall portion of the season to unprecedented team success in the spring, the 2021 Blue Dragon Men’s Golf season was truly historical.

On October 19 and 20, 2020 at The Rawls Course in Lubbock at the NJCAA National Preview, the Blue Dragons obliterated team scoring records for a single round (270), 36 holes (545), 54 holes (828) and a tournament-winning margin of victory (45 strokes).

A team victory at the Texas A&M-Commerce Lion Classic on March 23, 2021 started what became a six-tournament team winning streak that was culminated by winning the 2021 NJCAA National Championship at The Rawls Course in Lubbock.

The Blue Dragons swept through the three KJCCC-designated tournaments to repeat as Jayhawk Conference champions. Ben Partridge and Charlie Crockett were KJCCC individual co-league champions. One week later, Hutchinson won the District III/Region VI Championship with Harry Crockett winning the district/region individual title.

Hutchinson went wire-to-wire at the national tournament, posting a program-record 1,136 team score to defeat Odessa by nine strokes. Adding to the team title, Ben Partridge had to defeat teammate Harry Crockett in a four-hole playoff to become Hutchinson’s first-ever individual national champion.

With their first- and second-place finishes, Partridge and Crockett became the first and second NJCAA first-team All-Americans in Blue Dragon history. Cameron Rios-Ceballos finished 13th and earned NJCAA All-America Honorable Mention honors.

The honors did not stop there for the 2021 Blue Dragons.

Partridge was named a PING first-team All-American, the Phil Mickelson Outstanding Freshman of the Year and Jack Nicklaus Player of the Year. Harry Crockett was named a PING first-team All-American and was a Nicklaus and Mickelson award finalist. Charlie Crockett was named a PING second-team All-American.

For Young, he was named both the Delnor Poss NJCAA Division I National Tournament Coach of the Year and the Dave Williams/Golf Coaches’ Association of America NJCAA Division I National Coach of the Year.

BLUE DRAGON HIGHLIGHTS
The 2020 season went down as a lost season despite three team titles and two players earning All-America status. Because of the Coronavirus pandemic, the entire 2020 Jayhawk Conference and subsequent 2020 postseason were canceled. Still Charlie Crockett was named a PING first-team All-American for the second season in a row and Nathan McCulloch was a PING All-American Honorable Mention selection. Young was named the District III Coach of the Year.

The 2020 Blue Dragons were ranked as high as No. 3 in the national rankings, finishing No. 4 when the season was canceled.

The 2019 season saw the Blue Dragons surge back to the top of the KJCCC and Region VI, winning both team titles. Despite a 12th-place NJCAA Tournament showing, the 2019 Blue Dragons achieved more than any team in program history.

Freshman Charlie Crockett led the way, winning the Jayhawk Conference, Region VI and District III Individual titles. He was a PING first-team All-American, won the Phil Michelson Awards (best freshman in NJCAA men’s golf) and was a finalist for the Jack Nicklaus Award (best player in NJCAA men’s golf).

Charlie Herbert was an NJCAA Honorable Mention All-American. The Blue Dragons were ranked as high as No. 6 and the team won five tournaments in 2018-19.

The 2017 and 2018 Blue Dragons both tied for 11th at the NJCAA Championships.

The 2016 Blue Dragons repeated as both Jayhawk Conference and Region VI champions. The Dragons qualified for their 16th consecutive NJCAA national championship with a third-place District III showing. The Dragons then posted their sight-straight Top 10 national finish with after finishing eighth in the NJCAA championship. Sophomore Caleb Haight earned second-team NJCAA All-America honors after tying for ninth place individually.

The 2015 season saw the Blue Dragons re-capture the Jayhawk Conference crown, place second in the Region VI championships and ninth in the NJCAA Championships. A pair of freshmen earned All-American honors. Chase Coble finished 12th at the 2014 NJCAA Championships at Sandcreek Station in Newton and earned second-team NJCAA All-America honors. Lewis Schenk was named a Ping honorable mention All-American.

The 2014 Blue Dragons were and up-and-down team, but put together their best performance of the season at the NJCAA District III/Region VI Championships at Alvamar Country Club in Lawrence, KS. Hutch won the program’s 17th Region VI crown and as runner-up in District III to earn a 14th-consecutive trip to the NJCAA Tournament.

The 2011 Blue Dragons won their fourth-straight Jayhawk Conference team championship and captured their fourth Region VI team crown in the last five seasons. Just to top things off, the Blue Dragons earned another Top 10 national finish with a tie for 10th place at nationals in Odessa, Texas. Hutchinson won the conference team title for the fifth time in six seasons.

Freshman Mike Muller became Young’s fourth Region VI individual champion, winning that honor in a playoff. Muller, Sam Schulte and Craig Howell were All-Jayhawk Conference and All-Region VI, while two other players were second-team all-league in 2010-11.

The 2010 Blue dragons three-peated as Jayhawk Conference champions and were Region VI runners-up, placing fourth in District III and finished 16th at the NJCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships. Sophomore Dale Middleton was a second-team Ping/NJCAA All-American. Five HutchCC golfers earned all-Jayhawk Conference honors, including Middleton and Ben Lowman earning first-team honors.

The 2008 and 2009 Hutch men’s golf teams reached lofty national heights never seen in the program’s 46-year history.

The 2009 Blue Dragons repeated as Jayhawk Conference champions, winning their third league title in the four seasons. Hutch won its third straight Region VI championship and won the NJCAA District III championship for the second time in three seasons. The Blue Dragons finished eighth at the NJCAA Tournament, marking the third-straight season that the Dragons have placed in the top 10 in the nation.

Dale Middleton became the highest national finisher in Blue Dragon history, finishing sixth overall and becoming a second-team NJCAA All-American. Freshman Nicky Maddison won the Jayhawk Conference championship and was a Ping/NJCAA first-team All-American.

The 2008 Blue Dragons captured both the Jayhawk Conference championship and Region VI championship in the same year for the first time. Alex Wasinger repeated as Region VI champion and gave the Blue Dragons three straight Region VI individual championships.

Also, the Blue Dragons finished in a tie for sixth place at the 2008 NJCAA Championships at Huntsville, Ala., the highest national placing in Blue Dragon history. The Dragons were tied for third after the second round, marking the highest placing the Dragons have ever enjoyed at any time in a national tournament.

BUILDING THE BLUE DRAGONS
In 2003, Jeremiah Nelson became only the second All-American (third team) in program history – the first Division I All-American ever. Nelson helped the Blue Dragons place fourth at conference, took a surprising Region VI runner-up trophy and earned the Blue Dragons’ best national tournament place in program history with a 10th-place showing.

The 2004 season was a benchmark season for Blue Dragon golf. HutchCC had its best conference finish since 1986, finishing second. The Dragons finished fifth and took a stellar seventh place at the NJCAA national tournament. Adam Young was a third-team All-American in 2004 in leading the Blue Dragons to their best finish all-time in a national championship tournament, which was at Mariah Hills Country Club in Dodge City.

The 2005 Blue Dragons had their first Jayhawk Conference individual champion since 1984. In fact, the Blue Dragons finished 1-2 in the individual league title race. Zac Fisher captured the individual title with Tyler Way was right behind. Hutchinson finished second in the Jayhawk Conference for the second year in a row, took fourth at regionals and finished 13th in the nation.

Young and the Blue Dragons finally broke through in 2006, winning a first-ever Jayhawk Conference team championship. Grady Pauls became the second-straight Dragon golfer and third in program history to win a Jayhawk Conference individual championship, tying for the league crown. The Blue Dragons finished third at Region VI and Tyler Way became the first Dragon golfer since1986 to win a Region VI individual championship. The Blue Dragons finished 14th at the NJCAA national tournament.

While the Dragons didn’t repeat as Jayhawk Conference champion in 2007, Pauls won the league individual championship outright, marking the third-straight season a Blue Dragon golfer has won the crown. The Blue Dragons finished third in the league, but Young’s team put it all together at the right time, capturing the Region VI and District III championships at Wildhorse Country Club in Gothenburg, Neb. Wasinger was the Region VI/District III medalist. The 2007 Blue Dragons went on to finish 10th at the NJCAA national tournament. Pauls became Young’s third All-American, earning third-team status.

Before Young took over the Blue Dragon men’s golf program, he served as an assistant coach for the Hutchinson Community College women’s basketball team for two seasons. The Lady Dragons were 44-20 in those two seasons.

Before coming to Hutch in 1997, Young was at the University of Nebraska where he was an assistant coach for the Husker women’s basketball program under Angela Beck for three years. Nebraska was 51-33 in his three years in Lincoln.

Young is a native of Kearney, Nebraska. He graduated from the University of Nebraska at Kearney in 1993.

Young’s wife, Kricket, is a pediatric dentist in Hutchinson. The couple has three children: Cole, Kennedy and Carter.