KIPROTICH BREAKS OWN 10K RECORD; THID ADVANCES IN NJCAA’S

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

The owner of three Hutchinson Community College indoor and outdoor men's track and field records, Blue Dragon sophomore Titus Kiprotich did it again on Thursday night to conclude Day 1 of the 2025 NJCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Gowans Stadium.

Kiprotich smashed his own 10,000-meter record with a fourth-place finish in a field that blistered the Gowans Stadium track. Kiprotich lowered the Blue Dragon 10,000 men's record to 29:53.34, the first Hutchinson runner to break 30 minutes in the event.

BLUE DRAGON TRACK AND FIELD
NJCAA Division I Outdoor Championships – Day 2
When: Friday, May 16, 2025
Where: Gowans Stadium
Multi Events: 9 a.m.
Field Events: 11 a.m.
Running Events: 1:00 p.m.
Live Results: Heartland Timing
Live Video: NJCAA Network (PPV) – 9 a.m.
Admission: $10 Per Day
CLICK FOR MEET SCHEDULE
CLICK FOR OVERALL CHAMPIONSHIP INFORMATION

Kiprotich now holds the Blue Dragon 10,000-meter and 5,000-meter indoor and outdoor records.

Blue Dragon teammate Cornelius Kogo also joined Kiprotich on the podium with a seventh-place time of 30:24.69. That is the second-fastest 10,000 time in Blue Dragon men's track and field history.

Kiprotich and Kogo combined for seventh of the 10 points scored by Hutchinson on the opening day of the national championships. Overall the Blue Dragons are tied for fourth with 10 points after 4 of 22 events.

Blue Dragon sophomore hurdler David Thid opened his 2024 national title defense on Thursday by advancing to Saturday's final in the men's 400-meter hurdles. Thid qualified with the third-best time of 51.60 seconds.

Sophomore Elisha Williams battled an injury to place sixth in the men's long jump on Thursday. Williams' best attempt was his final jump in the preliminary round of 23 feet, 5 inches. Williams was fifth going into the finals and wound up sixth.

The Blue Dragon 4x100 relay team had a close call on making the finals and breaking the school record. The relay team of D'Antonio Warren, Giavonni Jones, Rickyle Telemaque and Kebba Makalo ran a time of 40.39 to finish 10th in the preliminaries. That time was just .10 seconds from earning a spot in Saturday's final and was .01 second off the Hutchinson school record.

Freshman Da'Shawn Lester missed the finals in the 400 meters, but posted the third-best time in Blue Dragon outdoor history of 47.07 seconds. Lester with 16th in the 400 preliminaries.

Other Blue Dragon performances on Day 1:
+ Pole vaulters Gregory Martinez and Jace Spencer finished 11th and 12th, respectively, after both cleared 13 feet, 11 3/4 inches.
+ Tayler Zehr placed 18th in the men's hammer throw with a top performance of 134-6.

Day 2 will be a busy one for the Blue Dragons at the NJCAA Championships:
+ 11:00 a.m. – Shot Put: Grady Bare
Noon – High jump: Ty'rique Roland
1:15 p.m. – 1,500-meter preliminaries: Titus Kiprotich, Farrin Mangelson
2:50 p.m. – 100-meter preliminaries: Kebba Makalo, D'Antonio Warren
3:30 p.m. – 800 meter preliminaries: Leo LeGrand
4:05 p.m. – 200-meter preliminaries: Kebba Makalo, D'Antonio Warren
4:50 p.m. – 3,000-meter Steeplechase final: Cornelius Kogo
5:25 p.m. – 4x400-meter relay preliminaries.