Hutchinson CC Sports Information
FORT DODGE, Iowa – For the past two seasons the trio of Cornelius Kogo, Titus Kiprotich and Dennis Cheriuyot have taken the Hutchinson Community College men's cross country team to new heights.
On a snowy Saturday at Lakeside Golf Course, that trio once again lifted the Blue Dragons to a level never achieved.
The 2025 Blue Dragons earned their best finish in NJCAA National Cross Country Championship history, finishing as the national runner-up. Last season, the Blue Dragons tied the best finish in team history of third place.
Within that team accomplishment, Kogo became the second Blue Dragon men's runner to win an individual national championship. Kiprotich was the national runner-up and Cheruiyot was seventh to lead the Blue Dragons.
Hutchinson was edged by Iowa Central for the team national championship 58-69. Region 6 rival Butler was third with 144 points.
The 11-points that separated the Blue Dragons and Tritons were closer than the final standings appeared.
Iowa Central had a two-point lead over Hutchinson at the 5K split, but at the 6K split, the Blue Dragons led by three points. That Blue Dragon lead grew to nine points at the 7K split. Iowa Central's No 4 and 5 runners made big moves in the final 1,000 meters despite Hutchinson's No. 4 and 5 runners Esteban Ortega and Farrin Mangelson running better splits in the final 1K than they did at the 6K and 7K splits.
When the race began at Noon Saturday, about one inch of snow was on the ground and there was moderate snow falling with a race-start temperature of 28 degrees.
The inclement weather didn't affect what became a 1-2 battle between Kogo and Kiprotich for the race lead.
At the 4K split, Kiprotich led Kogo by 11.3 seconds. Kogo then started to trim that deficit, cutting Kiprotich's lead to 8.8 seconds at the 5K split and 5.6 seconds at the 6K split. Within the 6K-to-7K segment, Kogo assumed the lead and went on to win the national championship by 8 full seconds over his teammate.
Kogo ran a national championship time of 24:54.7. He is the first Blue Dragon to win the NJCAA individual national championship since Andrew Kibet in 2018. Kogo earned NJCAA All-America honors after earning NJCAA Coaches Association honors in 2024 after placing 21st.