By Billy Watson
Hutchinson Community College Sports Information

Louise Cocking is a rare commodity entering the 2022 cross country season for Hutchinson Community College

Cocking, a sophomore from Derbyshire, England, will be a rare third-year participant for the Blue Dragons this season.

Cocking's resume as a Blue Dragon cross country runner is impressive:
+ She finished fifth in the NJCAA National Championships and became the first Blue Dragon to earn first-team NJCAA All-America honors.
+ Last season, Cocking finished 21st nationally and earned NJCAA Coaches All-America honors.
+ Cocking owns the third-fastest 5,000-meter time in Blue Dragon history (18:56.42).
+ In addition to her cross country achievement, Cocking is a two-time NJCAA Track and Field All-American with school records in the indoor 3,000 meters and outdoor 10,000 meters.

"It's good to have everybody back," seventh-year cross country coach Justin Riggs said. "Obviously, we're excited about that. (Louise) has proven to be one of the best distance runners in the NJCAA for the last couple of years."

Along with the third-year sophomore are Syndey Grauer (Marysville), who is another top 5 contributor and Aidyn White (Buhler). Courtney Baetz (Downs) is another sophomore returning. She didn't run for the cross country team last season, but was on the 2022 Blue Dragon men's track and field team.

Riggs brings in a talented group of freshmen who are going to make things interesting this season.

During the team's annual Time Trial two weeks ago, Cocking ran the fastest time trial time of her career … and finished fourth.

Among the new Hutchinson runners, Riggs has freshmen Gracie Lambert (Lindsborg) and Taylor Hoskinson (Haven), who had great running careers in high school. Lambert, from Smoky Valley, was the Class 3A 800- and 1,600-meter state champion this past year. Hoskinson competed in the two same races at the state meet and took fourth in the 800 and fifth in the mile. Hoskinson was the 3A regional champion in the 800. Lambert was also a regional champion in the 800.

Serenity Larson also comes in from Dodge City a state qualifier and top 12 finisher in the mile and two-mile races in track.

Last season, the Blue Dragon women posted their second-straight Top 15 national finish with a 12th-place showing in the NJCAA Championships. The Dragons finished fourth in Region VI and third in the Jayhawk West.

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One sophomore returns in Carsyn Turpin (Shawnee). He will have some help with a bunch of talented in-state freshmen runners.

Hayden Keller, a freshman from Buhler, finished in the top 20 at the state cross country meet where his school won its fourth straight team title. He was also the regional runner-up and also qualified and finished in the top 10 in the 800 and 1,600 in 4A at the state track meet.

Louis Wilson from Topeka West and Douwe Benesink from The Netherlands are also expected to be solid contributors to the team.

"We'll got a lot less experience on the men, but I'm excited about that," Riggs said. "It'll be kind of a learning curve. The men go from racing 5K in high school to 8K at the college level. It takes a good adjustment, especially for the freshman. It'll be a lot of learning experiences this year, but we've got a pretty solid squad there, I think."

The men's team didn't post league, regional or championship team scores last season with only four runners competing at the end of 2021.

The Blue Dragons cross country season begins with the Terry Masterson Twilight Classic Thursday at the Fun Valley Sports Complex. The women will lead off the night with their race at 8:30 p.m. with the men's race following at 9:05 p.m.