Hutchinson CC Sports Information

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama – The Hutchinson Community College women's cross country team earned their third Top 10 national finish in the last four seasons on Saturday with a 10th-place performance at the 2023 NJCAA Division I Championships at the John Hunt Cross Country Course.

The seventh-ranked Blue Dragons scored 289 points on Saturday. Hutchinson was the third-highest Region VI placer following fourth-place Colby and seventh-place Dodge City.

The Blue Dragons finished in the national Top 10 for the 14th time in program history and the third since returning to NJCAA Division I in 2010. Last season, the Blue Dragons placed fourth and were seventh in 2020.

All-American Serenity Larson led the Blue Dragons on Saturday. Larson placed 32nd with a time of 18:54.40. Placing inside the Top 40, Larson earned NJCAA Coaches Association All-America honors, making the sophomore from Dodge City the first two-time All-American since Louise Cocking in 2020 and 2021.

Larson posted her sixth career sub-19-minute performance in her Blue Dragon career.

Freshman Laura Avila was the second Blue Dragon to cross the finish line, placing 53rd in 19:46.20.

Sophomore Taylor Hoskinson placed 67th in a time of 19:56.20.

Sophomore Ellie Van Zelfden placed 72nd with a time of 20:12.30. Van Zelfden just missed her best 5,000-meter time of 0.3 seconds. She ran her PR time of 20:12.0 two weeks ago at the Region VI Championships.

Freshman Jordyn Picolet placed 77th with a time of 21:42.80.

Freshman Abigail Grantham finished 106th with a time of 21:04.50 and sophomore Lauren Aden was 130th in a time of 21:42.80.

Salt Lake Community College won the women's team championship with a team score of 43 points. New Mexico Junior College was second with 93 and Iowa Western was third with 102 points.

Iowa Western's Silvia Gradizzi was the individual champion, running a time of 17:20.30.