Hutchinson CC Sports Information

For the Hutchinson Community College women's cross country team's 2022 season, nothing seemed like it could go wrong.

Jayhawk West and Region VI championships and a fourth-place NJCAA national finish were just the tip of the iceberg for one of the best seasons in program history.

The 2023 season, according to its first-year head coach and returning All-American, just hasn't been as smooth for a myriad of reasons.

The No. 7-ranked Blue Dragons plan to remedy that on Saturday as Hutchinson will compete in the 2023 NJCAA Division I Championships at John Hunt Cross Country Park in Huntsville, Alabama.

The men's race is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. and women's race at 10:30 a.m.

"I have high hopes for how (Saturday) is going to go for us," All-American Serenity Larson said. "I think it's a great opportunity for me and for our team."

"Day-by-day and week-by-week I think we've gained some great confidence," first-year head coach Jafet Molinares said. "The sophomores have been here before and they've run at a high level. They know what to expect and I think they are ready. Hopefully, they can put all the pieces together Saturday."

Momentum for Saturday actually started to build in the Region VI Championships two weeks ago in Iola. The Blue Dragons finished as Region VI runner-up all five Blue Dragon runners – Laura Avila, Larson, freshman Jordan Picolet, Taylor Hoskinson and Lauren Aden – all placed in the Top 20 as Hutchinson had its best race of the season to that point.

Before regionals, the regular season had its share of good and bad.

"I think a lot of runners had different priorities from last year," said Larson, who owns the Blue Dragon cross country 5K record of 18:12.1. "I think we all had a lot of things going on outside of running."

But the performance at regionals has the Blue Dragons in a good place entering Saturday.

"I'm really proud of these girls about how stable and consistent we've been doing," Larson said. "It's been harder this season because we had such a great season last year."

Larson, a sophomore from Dodge City, has been steady. She has four Top 10 finishes and a best 5,000-meter time of 18:45.1 set at the Carol Swenson Invitational on October 7 in McPherson.

Hoskinson, a sophomore from Haven, has also figured in the team scoring in each meet this season. She had a season-best time of 19:53.0 at the Swenson Invitational.

Aden has steadily gotten stronger as the season has progressed. The sophomore from Inman has cut 2 1/2 minutes off her 5K time this season, running a career-best time of 20:02.7 in a 17th-place Region VI performance.

Molinares has been very pleased with the progression of freshmen Laura Avila and Jordyn Picolet.

Avila was Hutchinson's top Region VI runner, placing sixth in the region with the third-fastest Blue Dragon Region VI time of 18:55.07. Picolet was 13th in the regional championship with a PR time of 19:37.93.

"Laura was another weapon added to our team right before the season," Molinares said. "She was another kid who could help us get to our goals of being a Top 5 team again. Laura and Jordyn have been really huge for us as freshmen."

The Dragons have also gotten some big contributions from sophomore Ellie Van Zelfden and freshman Abigail Grantham.

So how much did the strong regional finish motivate the Blue Dragons?

"I think we've built up to this moment," Hoskinson said. "We really didn't start the season very well, but I feel like we are trending toward this race and I think everybody is ready."

MEN'S RACE – Three Blue Dragon men's runners will complete individually on Saturday.

Sophomore Christian Darrah has been a consistent performer this season. Darrah's best time 8,000-meter time 26:07.7 at the Carol Swenson Invitational. He had four Top 20 finishes this season, including a 15th-place performance at regionals.

Freshmen Leo LeGrand and David Ultreras will also be running on Saturday.