Hutchinson Sports Information
CRETE, Neb. – Hutchinson Community College freshman high jumper Richard Newman cleared 7 feet in the high jump and missed the Blue Dragon indoor record by one-quarter inch on Saturday at the Fred Beile Classic at Doane University.
Newman cleared 7 feet, one-quarter inch on Saturday to win the event and just missing the record set by Tom Floyd, who set the record in 1994 at 7-0 1/2. Newman became only the third Blue Dragon in indoor history to reach 7 feet. Newman's performance on Saturday ranks No. 2 in the NJCAA this season.
Newman was a double-event winner for the third time this season, also winning the long jump. He had a PR of 23 feet, 5 1/2 inches, which ranks sixth in the NJCAA this season.
Newman led an overall performance for the No. 15 Blue Dragons that included 33 overall PRs and three new national qualifiers. The Blue Dragons now have 15 national qualifiers through four indoor events this season.
Freshman Myles Hansen cleared 14 feet, 7 1/4 inches to earn a ticket to nationals in the pole vault. Hansen finished seventh on Saturday.
Freshman Alex Grays became the third Blue Dragon national qualifier in the 60 meters with a third-place finish in 6.86 seconds.
Sophomore Kadrin Williams earned his second nationals berth, this time in the 200 meters with a time of 22.37 seconds.
Freshman Connor Kaufman qualified in the 3,000 meters with a time of 8:56.12. That time is the fourth-fastest in Blue Dragon indoor history.
Blue Dragon sprinters had another exceptional day on Saturday.
The Blue Dragons went 1-2-3 in the 60 meters. Freshman Devon Henderson won the event with a time of 6.79 seconds, a PR that's the fourth-fastest time in school history. Williams ran a time of 6.82 seconds to finish second. Grays' third-place time of 6.86 seconds is the sixth-fastest in program indoor history.
The Dragons were 1-2-3-4 in the 200 meters. Grays won with a time of 22.04 seconds, the seventh-fastest time in team history. Williams' second-place time of 22.37 seconds was 10th fastest in team history. Donovan Whitmore was third in 22.40 seconds and Denilson Whitmore was fourth in 22.43 seconds. Marcus Edwards was eighth in the 200 in 22.86 seconds.
Tre'jaun Cash continues to dominate in the 60-meter hurdles. He won on Saturday with a finals time of 8.16 seconds, which is now the second-fastest time in Blue Dragon history. Sophomore Jeffrey Muiruri was fifth in 8.45 seconds.
Already qualified for nationals, the Blue Dragon 4x400 relay team won the event with a time of 3:21.66. The relay team of Fred Gonsalvies, Donovan Whitmore, Denilson Whitmore and Elijah Smith posted the sixth-fastest relay time in team history.
Gonsalvies finished second in the 600 meters with a time of 1:23.88, which ranks seventh in Blue Dragon history.
Jared Stark placed fourth in the 5,000 meters after a time of 16:09.28. That was the fourth-fastest time in team history.
The Blue Dragons will split up next Saturday. Part of the team will compete at the Gorilla Relays in Pittsburg and the rest will head to the Highland Indoor Invitational in Highland.