The Hutchinson Community College men’s cross country team is ranked No. 4 in the 2025 NJCAA Division I Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Preseason Poll.
The men’s and women’s polls were released Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
The national top five is led by Iowa Western CC, Butler CC, Iowa Central CC, Hutchinson CC and Odessa (Texas) CC.
The Blue Dragon men’s cross country team finished third at the NJCAA Division I championships last year.
The third-place national finish was a program best and Hutchinson’s seventh all-time Top 5 NJCAA National finish. It was the best nationals finish since placing fifth in 2020.
The Blue Dragons’ Titus Kiprotich placed ninth at nationals and Dennis Cheruiyot placed 10th. Cheruiyot didn’t run track last season due to injury.
Freshman Farrin Mangelson placed 21st with a time of 24:28.3. His time was the eighth-fastest by a Blue Dragon at nationals and the eighth-fastest 8K time in team history.
Freshman Cornelius Kogo was 28th at nationals. His season’s best time of 24:43.1 was both the 11th fastest at nationals and in program history.
Freshman Thaddeus Rotich placed 33rd overall with a time of 24:57. That mark was the 13th-best nationals time by a Blue Dragon and 14th overall in program history.
Freshman Kaden Lohrentz placed 78th with a time of 26:08.4. Sophomore David Ultreras was 79th with a time of 26:09.6.
The 2025 NJCAA Division I Cross Country Championships return to Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge, Iowa, on Nov. 8.
This will be the fifth time since 2013 that the nationals have been held there. No other site has been host more than twice in the time span.
The Hutchinson CC women’s team is ranked 15th in the 2025 USTFCCCA NJCAA Division I Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Preseason Poll.
Odessa College (Texas) is ranked first in the poll. Garden City CC and Butler CC are ranked seventh and eighth.
Hutchinson placed sixth at the NJCAA Division women’s national championship. The Blue Dragons posted their third straight Top 10 finish.
Freshman Faith Jepchirchir placed second at nationals. It was the highest national showing ever by a Blue Dragon in the women’s championship.
The Hutchinson Blue Dragon men’s and women’s cross country teams are coached by Jafet Molinares.
Blue Dragon runners open the season with the Terry Masterson Twilight Classic Friday at Fun Valley Sports Complex.
The women’s three-mile race begins at 8:30 p.m., followed by the men’s four-mile race at 9:05 p.m.
The course is a one-mile loop around the Fun Valley Softball Complex, so the women will run three laps and the men will run four laps. The path consists oof a mix of grass and dirt service road crossings. The course is completely flat.
This is a night meet. Field lights will be used to light the course, which will be well lit.
A custom-welded award trophy will be presented to the men’s and women’s first-place finishers. T-shirts will be awarded the top 15 men’s and women’s finishers.
