Hutchinson CC Sports Information
TOPEKA – Hutchinson Community College sophomore Louise Cocking had a strong opening to the 2022 indoor track and field season with a national qualifying mark in one event and a new school record in other on Saturday at the All-Kansas Invitational hosted by Washburn University.
Cocking and sophomore All-American Kiana Brown both qualified for the NJCAA Indoor Championships in March. The Blue Dragon women collected five Top 10 placings and 13 points to finish eighth in the 19-team field filled with NCAA Division I and Division II programs as well as several NAIA and Jayhawk Conference teams.
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Cocking, a first-team NJCAA Cross Country All-American, qualified for the NJCAA indoor championships in the 3,000 meters on Saturday. She finished fourth in the event with a time of 10:36.98, which is the second-fastest time in Blue Dragon history.
Cocking just missed qualifying in the Mile run, but set a Blue Dragon school record with a fourth-place time of 5:21.77. Cocking just missed qualifying in the Mile in .08 seconds.
Brown set a Blue Dragon indoor PR in the pole vault after clearing 10 feet, 4 inches. Her ninth-place effort was the fifth-best indoor vault in Blue Dragon history. Brown was a second-team outdoor All-American last season, but didn't qualify for the indoor national championships.
Freshman Keneah Romney posted two Blue Dragon Top-10 efforts in her Blue Dragon debut. Romney placed ninth in the 200 meters in 26.58 seconds, which is the fifth-fastest indoor 200 time in school history. Her 10th-place 400-meter time of 1:01.51 is the seventh-fastest time in team history.
Three other Blue Dragons set for personal records on Saturday.
+ Lushous Davis had PRs in the shot put (34-0.75) and weight throw (40-9).
+ Hannah Schrock had a PR in the weight throw (40-9).
+ Noel Buckhaults had a PR in the 3,000 meters (11:28.96).
The Blue Dragons will compete in the Jayhawk Conference Invitational next Saturday at the Plaster Center in Pittsburg.