TOPEKA – The Hutchinson Community College men’s track and field team earned three national qualifications on Saturday at the season-opening All-Kansas Invitational at Washburn University.
The Blue Dragons had one event win, 14 Top 10 finishes and scored 51 points in the 19-team field filled with Jayhawk Conference schools, NAIA programs as well as teams from Wichita State, Washburn and Fort Hays State.
Sophomore sprinter Clyedterrious Thompson won the 60 Meters on Saturday with a national-qualifying time of 6.84 seconds. Thompson ran the ninth-fastest 60-meter time in Blue Dragon history. He qualifying second for the finals, running 6.84 seconds in the preliminaries.
Thompson finished seventh in the 200 meters in 22.17 seconds. He finished eighth in the long jump at 21 feet, 2.75 inches.
Sophomore Antonio Cooper qualified for nationals for the first time as a collegian, placing third in the shot put. He had a top mark of 51-9.75, which is the seventh-best indoor mark in Blue Dragon history.
Freshman distance runner Collin Oswalt was the third Blue Dragon to qualify for the NJCAA Indoor national championships in March. Oswalt qualified in the 3,000 meters in a 13th-place time of 8:46.26. That time is the fourth-fastest time in Blue Dragon history.
Freshman Sharim Hamilton placed second in the 400 Meters, running a time of 49.85 seconds, which is the third-fastest in Blue Dragon indoor history.
Freshman Caleb Manning was fifth in the high school after clearing 6-2.75. Manning also placed fourth in the triple jump at 46-5.5 and was fifth in the long jump at 21-9.
Sophomore Davion Gardenhire had two personal-best performances in Saturday. Gardenhire ran PRs of 7.11 seconds in the 60 meters and 22.40 seconds in the 200 meters.
Dre’Shun Bridges had a PR of 7.12 seconds in the 60 meters. Andrew Holt had a PR in the Mile run in 4:40.81.
The Blue Dragons will next compete at the Jayhawk Invitational on Saturday in Pittsburg.