Hutchinson CC Sports Information

Three members of the 2023 national champion Hutchinson Community College 4x800-meter relay team return to lead a solid core group as the Blue Dragons get set to open the 2024 indoor season on Saturday in Topeka.

The Blue Dragons will compete in the Washburn University Rust Buster Classic at the Washburn Indoor Athletic Facility. The meet is scheduled to start at 10:30 a.m.

Sophomores Taylor Hoskinson, Ellie Van Zelfden and Serenity Larson – the three returning legs of the national champion 4x800 relay – headline a list of eight overall national qualifiers back from last season.

"We are going to be much improved on the women's side," head coach Robert Spies said. "We have better athletes and they are continuing to improve. Our freshman class is much better with several of them having good performances out of high school."

Last year, Hoskinson, Van Zelfden and Larson set a Blue Dragon indoor record of 9:42.96 in winning the 4x800 relay national title.

All three of those runners were multiple national qualifiers, both indoor and outdoor last season.

Larson qualified in both the indoor and outdoor 5,000 meters. She placed 10th in the indoor 5,000 with a time of 19:01.09.

Hoskinson qualified individually in the indoor 1,000 meters and placed 18th with a time of 3:09.45.

Hoskinson and Van Zelfden also qualified on the Blue Dragon indoor Distance Medley Relay, which was 10th 13:03.56. Hoskinson, Van Zelfden and Larson were part of the Blue Dragon outdoor 4x800 relay which finished 10th in 10:08.73.

Two-time high jump national qualifier Madelyn Hernandez returns this season. She tied for eighth in the indoor national championships with a clearance of 5-5 1/4. Hernandez was 10th in the outdoor championships after clearing 5-5 3/4.

"Madelyn is very strong in the high jump and is getting stronger in the hurdles," Spies said. "She's going to be able to score some points for us."

Indoor qualifier Kaylee James is back after missing most of the outdoor season with injury. James qualified in the 60-meter hurdles and placed 13th in the preliminaries with a time of 9.00.

Outdoor qualifier Alivia Noll returns in the pole vault. Noll was 10th last season after going 9-9 at nationals.

Liberty Limon also returned after qualifying in the outdoor high jump. Limon finished 17th last season at 5-1 3/4.

A total of 13 sophomores return for 2024 for the Blue Dragons.

Spies said several freshmen have an opportunity to make an immediate impact in 2004.

Distance runner Lauren Avila, who also ran for the Blue Dragon cross country team, will likely fill the fourth spot on the two relays and be one of the top distance runners for the Blue Dragons.

Brooke Hawkins had a lot of prep success in the long, triple and high jumps in the state of Florida in high school.

Nakaela O'Hair is an in-state pole vaulter (Elkhart) who cleared 11 feet, 3 inches in high school.

Kemisha Dominique is a sprinter from Grenada and in-state sprinter Nuhbia Coney (Junction City), both will give the Dragons the ability to score points in the sprints.

Aiyanna Green was a state champion in the shot put at Hutchinson High School.

Emily Schweizer had a strong career at Buhler High School in the throws.

"We have a lot of returners who are going to leave their mark on this team," Spies said. "We have some in-state throwers who are going to help us out a lot. Hayley Burke is also back and she's improved a lot."

The Blue Dragons will compete throughout the indoor season in the state of Kansas. The Dragons competing in meets at Washburn, Wichita State and Pittsburg State, which the Region VI Championships at the Plaster Center in Pittsburg State on February 17 and 18. The NJCAA indoor national championships will be in Gainesville, Florida on March 1 and 2.