Hutchinson CC Sports Information
PITTSBURG – For the fifth-consecutive indoor meet in 2020, Hutchinson Community College sophomore Andrew Kibet broke a school record.
Kibet led a strong showing by the Blue Dragon middle distance runners to a fourth-place team finish on Saturday at the 2020 Region VI Indoor Championships at Pittsburg State's Plaster Center.
The Blue Dragons amassed 82 team points in the final regional standings. Cloud County won the men's team title with 151.5 points. Barton was the team runner up with 131 points. The Blue Dragons edged Butler by two points for fourth place.
Hutchinson finished third in the Jayhawk West final standings scoring 120.5 points. Cloud County won that title as well with 231.5 points and Barton had 188 points to finish second.
FINAL REGION VI CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS
Kibet broke his own school record in the 1,000 meters with a Region VI championship time of 2:24.72. That topped his old record 2:26.35 set at the Mule Relays. His Mule Relays converted time is still No. 1 in the nation this season.
Kibet also finished second in the region and captured a Jayhawk West title in the 600 meters with a time of 1:20.0, the second fastest time he has posted in the event this season.
Kibet currently owns indoor school records in the 600 meters, 800 meters, 1,000 meters and Mile run. He also owns the outdoor 800 meters and the cross country 8K school record.
One day after setting his second school record of the season in the 5,000 meters, sophomore Sylvester Kibarar won a regional championship in the 3,000 meters on Saturday. Kibarar bested his own second-fastest time in Blue Dragon history in the indoor 3,000 meters with a championship time of 8:37.36. Kibarar also scored with a fourth-place showing in the Mile run with a time of 4:25.41.
After qualifying eighth for the 200-meter finals on Friday, sophomore sprinter Jake Scott was the Region VI runner up in the 200 finals on Saturday. Scott ran the third-fastest indoor 200 time with a regional and conference runner-up time of 21.41 seconds.
Sophomore Brett Hillabrand had a strong regional championship with a career-best time in one event and season-best time in another. Hillabrand placed fifth in the 1,000 meters with a PR time of 2:32.46, which is the third-fastest time in Blue Dragon history. He was third in the Mile run with a sophomore-season-best time of 4:21.61.
Hillabrand also ran leadoff for Hutchinson's Jayhawk West champion 4x800-meter relay team. Hillabrand, Andrew Holt, Jacob Mcelhanon and Zach Haxton ran a time of 8:02.03, which was third in the region.
Other notable Blue Dragon performances on Saturday:
+ Mcelhanon was fifth in the 3,000 meters with a time of 8:56.43. That's the seventh-fastest in the 3,000 meters in Blue Dragon history
+ Teagan Flanagan was fifth in the 3,000 meters with a time of 9:00.35, the eighth-fastest time in program history.
+ Jovan Jackson finished eighth in the 600 meters with a time of 1:22.21. That mark is a personal record for Jackson.
The Blue Dragons have 14 qualifiers for the NJCAA Indoor Championships which will be March 6-7 in Lynchburg, VA