Hutchinson CC Sports Information

PITTSBURG – Violet Martinez and the Hutchinson Community College Women's Distance Medley Relay became the latest Blue Dragons to punch tickets to the NJCAA Indoor Championships on Saturday on Day 1 of the Region VI Indoor Championships.

The Blue Dragons are in sixth place with 19 points after the first of the two-day competition at Pittsburg State's Plaster Center. Championship Day begins at 10 a.m. on Sunday.

The Blue Dragon Distance Medley Relay team was a regional runner-up on Saturday with a national qualifying time of 12.59.76. The relay team of Louise Cocking, Keneah Romney, Anastasia Myer and Noel Buckhaultz posted the 12th-fastest DMR time in Blue Dragon history.

For Cocking, this was the fourth different event she has qualified for nationals. Cocking has also qualified in the 5,000- and 3,000-meters and the Mile run.

The other Blue Dragon to earn a spot in the national championships, also at the Plaster Center in two weeks, was All-American pole vaulter Violet Martinez, who cleared 9 feet, 10 inches to finish fourth on Saturday. Martinez was a third-team All-American in the 2021 outdoor pole vault last season.

Kiana Brown, who had already qualified for national in the pole vault, finished third in the event, also clearing 9-10.

The Blue Dragons have five individual qualifiers and one relay for the 2022 NJCAA Indoor Championships.