Hutchinson CC Sports Information
PITTSBURG – Sophomore Andrew Kibet was joined by fellow sophomore Sylvetre Kibarar on an assault on the Hutchinson Community College indoor track and field records books on Saturday at the Pittsburg State Invitational.
Kibarar started the day off with a new Blue Dragon record in the indoor 5,000 meters. Kibet later joined in with a record-breaking performance in the Mile run.
The Blue Dragons picked up four more national qualifying performances at PSU to bring the season total up to 10 – nine individual and one relay.
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Running in a strong 5,000-meter field, Kibarar finished fourth in the event with a school-record time of 14:52.32. That broke the 1996 record of Deen Johnson. Kibarar's time is the fifth fastest posted 5,000 time in the NJCAA this season.
Later on Saturday, Kibet broke one of the longest-standing records on the Blue Dragon charts when he broke the 1977 record of Dennis Weber in the Indoor Mile with a time of 4:08.80. Also a national-qualifying time, this was Kibet's third school record in as many weeks in as many events. Kibet has also broken the 600- and 800-meter records this season.
Also qualifying for nationals in the Mile was sophomore Brett Hillabrand, who finished 12th at PSU with at time of 4:22.70.
Hillabrand and Kibet were two legs of the national qualifying Blue Dragon Distance Medley Relay, which won the Pittsburg State Invite with a time of 10:18.44, winning the event by nearly 6 full seconds. The relay team of Hillabrand, Omar Sabur, Jovan Jackson and Kibet posted the fifth-fastest time in Blue Dragon history.
Sprinter Jared Scott had a good day for Hutchinson. He finished seventh in the 60-meter finals with a personal-best time of 6.76 seconds, third fastest in team history. His preliminary time was 6.77 seconds. Already qualified for nationals in the 60 meters, Scott qualified in the 200 with a season's-best time of 21.70 seconds. That was good for 11th place on Saturday.
Freshman Teagan Flanagan posted the fifth-fastest Blue Dragon time in the indoor 3,000 meters on Saturday with a time of 8:53.01.
The Blue Dragons will next compete at the Mule Relays on Saturday in Warrensburg, MO.