Hutchinson CC Sports Information
After more than a month off from competition, Hutchinson Community College freshman runner Letsepa Prince Madume was primed for the University of Arkansas Chile Pepper Festival on Saturday.
Madume dueled with and beat all but four of the top NCAA runners in the nation and finished fifth at the Chile Pepper.
That performance earned him the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association's (USTFCCCA) NJCAA Division I National Athlete of the Week award on Monday.
Madume, who won the Terry Masterson Twilight Classic in August, once again led the Blue Dragons on Saturday – the Dragons finished ninth overall in the team standings.
Madume ran a time of 24:13.0, the eighth-fastest time in Blue Dragon history in an 8K event. Madume had a strong stretch run, passing a pair of University of Texas runners to place fifth overall.
This was Madume's first career collegiate 8K event.
This is the sixth time that male athlete from Hutchinson has been named USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week in cross country. Madume joined Titus Kiprotich (2025), Teagan Flanagan (2020) and Andrew Kibet (three times in 2018) in that selective group.
After his August win in the Masterson, Madume was named KJCCC and NJCAA National Runner of the Week.