Pokemon Go makes comeback
Take me out to the ball game
Students play Pokemon Go at a campus-wide Pokemon hunt last year when the game was first wildly popular. Now, it’s making a comeback.
Ashton Reynolds slides into home helping the women’s softball team start their season with a win against Pratt last Thursday.
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The student voice of Hutchinson Community College
www.hutchcollegian.com
February 16, 2018
Vol. 59 Issue 14
HutchCC student inspires many After battling addiction since grade school, Jeff Brandon is loving father, successful student and shining example of how perseverance can change one’s life for the better
By Merissa Anderson Collegian Editor At a small family farm just north of Hutchinson, a man – who as praised by the voice of the Kansas City Chiefs Mitch Holthus, serves as an inspiration to everyone around him. – lives with his young daughter. Jeff Brandon is a 43 year-old, first-year college student at Hutchinson Community College. He is single-handedly raising his 8-year-old daughter, KeilyJo. “Life is good,” Brandon said. “I feel proud of myself.” However, Brandon’s life hadn’t always been as picturesque as he finds it to be now. For more than 25 years, Brandon battled an addiction than began as a child. “I’ve been through tons of crazy stuff,” Brandon said. “I don’t have a lot of memories of my childhood, but when I was young in grade school, I do remember that I was different. At an early age, I started drinking, and I, for the first time, I had friends that I never had all my life. For the first few years, it was good, but at some point it took control, and you never know when that point is going to be.” Eventually, his alcohol addiction turned into a drug habit at the age of 19, and Brandon dropped out of high school. “At that point, it was all over,” Brandon said. Despite the darkness that Brandon faced during this period of his life, he
made a decision after his daughter’s birth that would forever change his life, and the lives of those around him. “I got sober when I was 36,” Brandon said. “Five months after my daughter was born – Sept. 26, 2010 is
Courtesy Photo
Jeff Brandon and his daughter, KeilyJo Brandon, do a photoshoot together shortly after he gained custody of her.
Nicki Lenz Photography
Jeff and KeilyJo enjoy hunting together when there is time to spare. “She’s my little hunting buddy,” Brandon said. my clean day.” Recovery is often a long, complicated road full of relapses for many recovering addicts, but for Brandon, his daughter made it the easiest thing in the world. “I spent five months using after she was born, but then her mom left and took her away, and that was the most devastating pain I ever felt in my life,” Brandon
said. “I haven’t struggled with staying clean. I lost all desire to use the day I stopped.” Soon after, Brandon gained custody of his daughter, and his life has been a restoration process ever since. “Looking back on all the years I lost, it just isn’t worth it,” Brandon said. “I have more fun now sober than I ever did, because when you’re under the influence, you’re consumed. You make irrational decisions, you don’t think straight and it’s just utter chaos and it gets to a point where you enjoy the chaos.” After making the decision to earn his GED last winter, Brandon made the decision to major in psychology at HutchCC. “I decided to change my life,” Brandon said. “I’ve been totally overwhelmed with the support from faculty and students. It’s been a great experience, and when I was applying for scholarships, I was getting letters from people and the words I received from others just made me bawl.” Brandon has made many good relationships with peers and supervisors since he began at HutchCC last semester. “I’m amazed with everything the school offers,” Brandon said. “You’re set up to succeed here, and if you apply yourself, there’s no reason to fail. I’m 43, a single parent, I work two jobs, and I still maintain decent grades.” Brandon looks forward to attending HutchCC next year, and perhaps moving on to Wichita State after
Merissa Anderson/Editor Jeff Brandon often spends extra time studying behind the main desk in the student union as a way to focus on his homework. Although he is often busy with two jobs and being a single father, Brandon still finds time to maintain a 3.57 GPA. graduation. Most importantly though, Brandon wants to a good influence for his daughter. “Despite everything (KeilyJo) has been through, she’s happy and I just try to be a positive role model in everything I do,” Brandon said. “I want her to be proud and I want her to see that anything is possible.” After hearing from
others that he inspires them, and after being used as an example of progress during Holthus’ speech, Brandon is beginning to realize the influence he can have on others. “I’m just another person here in my mind,” Brandon said. “I’m no different and no better than anybody else, but to hear that I’m more than just
a student makes me feel proud and gives me that sense of accomplishment. “If I can go through life touching on person and changing one person’s life, it’ll have been worth it. No matter what, don’t give up. Life isn’t always easy but like an old-timer once told me, you have to make the best of what you got and keep pushing forward and never give up.”
CAMPUS BEAT Upcoming events
What is your favorite Winter Olympics sport?
Feb. 17 — Women’s basketball vs. Cowley, 5:30 p.m.; men’s basketball vs. Cowley, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 20 — Baseball vs. Independence, 2 p.m. Feb. 22 — Career Connections Job Fair, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Hutchinson Sports Arena.
“Probably bobsled because I like how fast they go. I think it’s pretty badass.”
“Half Pipe because it’s cool and they do tricks.”
— Hailey Burke, Topeka
— Chandler Stubbs, Inman
“My favorite event to watch is the bobsledding because it is entertaining and they go really fast.” — Kayla Barber, DeSoto Texas
“Skating because they look cool.”
“I like watching the biathalon because in involves skiing and shooting.”
— Eric Pham, Hutchinson
— Tyler Korb, Council Grove
Opinion
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The Hutchinson Collegian Friday, Feburary 16, 2018
The Snapchat Missing the Valentine love update and the anger it causes Our view It’s no secret that one of the most popular social media outlets for a college student is Snapchat. It has gone through so many changes since the app started, whether it was new filters, text size/color, time limits, or personal Bitmoji’s (avatars you can create to look like you). Recently there’s been several complaints about the new automatic Snapchat update on Twitter. People, (mostly teenagers and college students) complained because the setup is confusing and irritating. There is even a petition going on to remove up-dates and re-design Snapchat altogether. In this update, the snaps are the same, however you can’t look at stories separately anymore. The stories show up as a blue ring around the contact. This confused people at first because of its appearance. The place that stories used to be is now just quiz-
zes and “news” updates. Another big change was the Bitmoji avatars. There is a way to now make the animated people resemble you better by taking a selfie and creating it that way. The Bitmoji’s also have a keyboard setting so you can now text your animated person to some-one and message that way. One reason that the Snapchat update angered people is because it didn’t ask if you wanted the update, it was just automatic, so you couldn’t refuse it. There are some ways to get rid of the update if you are really frustrated with it. Just delete the app, re-install it and it should be the old version. Before deleting the app, make sure you save your pictures and back up your memories incase they get deleted. Also it wouldn’t hurt to remember your password to log back in. When you re-install the app, open the phone settings and go to “iTunes &App Stores,” then turn off automatic updates.
Kourtney Sweet/Cartoonist
The unfortunate events of Brenna To begin this unfortunate tail, (yes I did that on purpose), I must first admit that as a child, I was obsessed with “Dora the Explorer”. She was my idol as a kindergartner. I watched her show everyday after school, had themed birthday parties dedicated to her, and I wore the backpack while going on random adventures in our home-made forest. I even had short brown hair at one time, so technically I WAS Dora. I had these fabulous Dora light-up Skechers that I wore all the time. One morning we were running late for the bus, my mother was the school bus
My mouse experience
driver and she had an early morning route, so we were hurrying to get ready to go. As usual, I lost my shoes and swore that I looked high and low for them. I told my mom and she said, “If I find your shoes, you are in big trouble.” So of course I said that they were nowhere to be found, and she went upstairs to my room to find them. Like moms do, she found my shoes within seconds and as I was standing at the bottom of the stairs she yelled, “They’re right here,” and threw them down the stairs. When I looked up, it was too late, the shoes
Columnist
Brenna Eller
nailed me right in the nose. I had a horrible bloody nose and my mom felt terrible. So where does the mouse come in you ask? Well, those same Dora Skechers were still my
favorites and I started keeping them downstairs in the closet, so we couldn’t repeat the shoes-in-the-face fiasco. We were almost late another time, and as mom and I were leaving the house, I grabbed my shoes and started shoving my feet in them. Something was inside the left shoe, keeping my foot from going in all the way. I told my mom who was already upset about being late. She took my foot and jammed it in all the way. I let out a small scream and she looked really concerned. As my foot hit the end of the shoe, it made a loud crunchy sound
and a little squeal. I pulled my foot out of the shoe to find my sock covered in blood. That’s right, I smashed a baby mouse with my bare foot. My mom was just as shocked as I was and took the mouse, chucking it into the bushes outside. After that horrifying event, I unfortunately had to throw out my Dora shoes. But at the same time, I never wanted to be reminded of that disgusting feeling of squishing a baby mouse ever again. On the bright side, I always remember to check my shoes before I put my feet in them. It’s probably more of an instinct now
since that happened so long ago. I haven’t had any other experiences with mice since then.
Famous Footwear/ Courtesy Photo These beautiful shoes were similar to the ones I had, although no shoes will be like my Dora shoes were. They also won’t have all of the experiences and memories I had with mine, that’s for sure.
Rules of the road for dummies Texting and driving, you are immediately classified as an idiot if you do this. You must lack even the slightest ounce of common sense if you think it’s a good idea to pull out your cell phone and respond to a text or Snapchat while operating a moving vehicle. It just irritates me how stupid people can be to do this. Not only are you risking your own life, but you are also risking the lives of others. Do you really want to be responsible for causing a fatal accident and potentially going to jail for
Dangers of texting and driving
vehicular homicide? It is not worth it. Put your phone down. They didn’t make a law to not text and drive for no reason. I get it has been a huge controversy since smart phones came about, but people need to take it seriously and wait to get on their phone. If it is super important, then pull to the side of the road or in a parking lot. No text, Snapchat, phone call, or video chat is worth taking someone’s life. Which brings me to the two almost-incidents that I have had where the
The Hutchinson
Collegian
The Hutchinson Collegian is the official student newspaper of Hutchinson Community College. It is created by the Newspaper Production class each week during the academic year, except for when school is not in session, or during final exams.
Columnist
Emma Cox
other driver was too busy on their phone and not watching the road. The first almost-wreck occurred when I was with
my best friend, headed to her house. There is a dirt road by the country club that curves around really tight, and I kid you not, this girl coming from the opposite direction of us was obviously looking down at her phone and merged onto our side of the road. If my friend didn’t blare her horn, we would have been hit head on. I certainly hope that girl learned her lesson. Another time was a Sunday morning when I was headed to work around 10 a.m. I was taking what we call a
Staff Editor: Merissa Anderson Opinion page editor: Brenna Eller Sports editor: Lucas Barlow Adviser: Brad Hallier Staff members: Pablo Sanchez, Emma Cox, Amanda Carney, Cassidy Crites, Jack Greenwood, Allie Schweizer, Kourtney Sweet
“back road,” because it is a straight path from my house to work. I am about two minutes away, and there is a spot on the side of the road on the left hand side where a truck was parked in the small drive they had made to feed cattle. There was a girl driving the opposite of me once again and can you guess what she was doing? That’s right, she was on her phone. The road we were on has a small hill and because she wasn’t paying attention, and on her side of the road, she was
coming down the hill and almost hit me head on. I slammed on my horn as soon as I saw her, and she quickly turned her wheel and threw her hands up at me as if I was in the wrong. The people in the truck I had mentioned earlier looked over at the lady when I honked my horn and their jaws just dropped because they knew what could have potentially happened. I hope she learned her lesson too. So to that I say, put down your phone, you idiot!
Letters to the editor: The Hutchinson Collegian welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must include the author’s signature, address and phone number. The Collegian reserves the right to edit letters for style, legality and length. Letters may not exceed 300 words. Send letters to hallierb@hutchcc.edu.
The Hutchinson Collegian Friday, February 16, 2018
A Colombian’s tale: Instructor tells experience about her culture By: Pablo Sanchez Staff Writer
Andrea Estling, a Hutchinson Community College Spanish instructor, came to the United States at the age of 24 after finding out about the United States through geography classes she took in high school. “If you love The reason why she came to HutchCC was because of her the culture, husband from Minnesota who was you have in Colombia for business travel. If given the chance, she would to love the live in Colombia once she gets to language.” retirement age. If she could do anything else besides teach Spanish, she would want to look into being a designer or exploring photography, because she enjoys being able to express herself creatively. Estling also likes to read and take photos when she has time. Some of Estling’s favorite foods are empanadas and other foods like rice with chicken and vegetables. Estling only has some family living in the states including her daughter and her husband.
Q: How did you find out about HutchCC? A: “I did not know about this place because it’s a small town,” Estling said. “I know about Hutchinson now because of my job here.” Q: What makes you so passionate about Spanish? A: “It’s a part of who I am,” Estling said. “I like to share my culture with others who want to have a global view about other cultures. People in Colombia are very friendly and family is very important for us. We have a multicultural country. For example – Indigenous, Afro-Colombians, Asians and Caucasians. Most of the people are multiracial. It means that most of our population are mestizos.” Q: What life lessons can you share? A: “If you want to become a global citizen, you need foreign language,” Estling said. “If you want to become fluent in any language you must practice and immerse yourself in the language. When you do that your will experience a great culture.”
Campus
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HutchCC alumnus now runs iconic local restaurant By Pablo Sanchez Staff Writer
The relationship between Bogey’s and Hutchinson Community College is close all year long, every single year. Football players come in almost every night, and owner, Tyler Davis said Bogey’s has had a good relationship with HutchCC ever since Bogey’s started in 1987. HutchCC basketball games were more popular in the community back then, less so today, but Bogey’s still had people come in for the national tournament last year and the NJCAA is one of the busiest weeks for Bogey’s. Davis said he also has two employees on a Bogey’s scholarship for HutchCC. The resturaunt even offers a special burger based on the college. The Blue Dragon Burger is a spicy bacon burger that has blue cheese. The connection is the Blue Dragons breathe fire, and Davis said it is the most popular burger and his favorite. Davis’ father started Bogey’s in 1987 and worked there on and off when he was in town. His dad decided to retire when he turned 62-years old, and asked if one of his kids wanted to take over. Five years ago Davis came back, and it’s been a five-year plan for him to buy the business, which he did in December. Davis attended Hutchinson High School, went to
Pablo Sanchez/Collegian Tyler Davis, Hutchinson Community College alumnus, is the new owner of Bogey’s. He took over for his father, who retired in December. The restaurant and the college have maintained a close relationship through the years. far outnumbered by the you start to get more comThe University of Kansas and came back to HutchCC many happy customers who fortable dealing with more come through to enjoy the stressful situation. during the summers. classic burgers and shakes Davis said that he “Although college was that have become iconic to hopes to open another tough, running a restaurant Hutchinson. restaurant around in town, is the most difficult thing Two of Davis’ strengths but not another Bogey’s. to do,” Davis said. “Like are he is empathetic and Davis has three kids working with employees sympathetic, which help him and said he wants another when something bad has as an employer, as it helps kid. Davis loves his family happened.” him understand the situavery much and would like He works with a lot of tion that his co-workers are to see a more positive teenagers, has had people change in Hutchinson, come in intoxicated or high, going through. Dealing with stress and because many things have and those things can be pressure is common in any been lost in town, but he difficult. work place, when you work also wants to his company However, these in a restaurant for a long time grow professionally. unfortunate instances are
Campus
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Students have opportunities at Career Fair By Brenna Eller Opinion Page Editor
Get your resumes polished and your work attire out, because on Feb. 22 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the third annual Career Connections Job Fair at the Sports Arena will be available to all Hutchison Community College students, faculty, alumni, Hutchinson High students and anyone of the community who needs to find a job. Michelle Wortham, Administration Assistant to Vice President of Student Services and Christopher Lau, Coordinator of Advising, Career Dev. and Counseling are the main people behind this event. Michelle Wortham is excited about this year’s Job Fair. “There will be 94 potential employers and nursing transfer schools all under one roof,” Worthman said. “These employers want to meet our students and to talk with them about what education and skills
If you go...
Third Annual Career Connections Job Fair When: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Thursday Where: Sports Arena they can improve on now to help them achieve their ‘dream job’ later.” According to Worthman, the event has grown every year. The first year, there were about 50 employers, and about 200 people attending to find a job. Last year, there were 85 employers and over 400 job seekers listed. This year, 94 employers registered, making this the biggest Connections Fair sponsored by HutchCC yet. When asked about the intentions of this event, Wortham said, “We encourage students that may already have a job or don’t plan on beginning down their career path right now to attend the Career Fair.”
The Hutchinson Collegian Friday, February 16, 2018
Entertainment Pulse Pokémon Go on the rebound Columnist
For anyone who has followed me since the beginning of this column, they know that I normally only cover movies, music and theatre. For this week I would like to branch out and discuss a recent development in the entertainment world. And that is – Pokémon Go and it is on the rebound! Pokémon Go is the phone app that allows players to go inside the virtual world of Pokémon from their smart phone and catch Pokémon, battle gyms, and participate in “raid” battles. This all takes place in the “real world” as most of the gyms and Poke stops (where players go to collect items) are centered on locations around the player’s area. Here at HutchCC, we have gyms at the clock tower, Sports Arena and Gowans Stadium. Players choose a team based on their personalities, either Instinct (Yellow team), Mystic (Blue team), or Valor (Red team). From there, the teams compete to control the gyms. Here on campus, it seems to be an
Jack Greenwood ongoing battle between the Yellow and Red teams to control the gyms. The game has been out since 2016, so why am I discussing it now? Well, as a long time player, it seemed like the game had died out among fans. Recently, however, I’ve noticed
that the campus has been busier with Pokémon activity. The revival could perhaps be in part due to the recent addition of new Pokémon, or the updates that have fixed various bugs within the game. Also, people could be longing for nostalgic times when things seemed easier. Personally, I think the game is great. In order to capture certain Pokémon and obtain certain items, players have to walk certain distances and be out in their community. The game encourages people to be active and interact with other players. It makes me happy that the game may be on a bit of a revival. It’s a great way to relive childhood nostalgia, but also a great way to get out, be active and meet new people. So, go forth, players, and catch them all.
...you could win!
Prizes available at Career Fair: Apple Watch Series 1 Airpods Samsung Gear Sport Watch Anker Power Cores (x2) JBL Flip 4 Waterproof BluTooth Speaker and case Beats - X wires earbuds iPad Air$50 Visa Gift Card
College sees tuition increase for 18-19 By Merissa Anderson Collegian Editor
The 2018-2019 school year at Hutchinson Community College will see an increase in tuition prices for all in-state, out-of-state and international students, as well as an increase in hourly fees for most technical career classes, as decided by the Board of Trustees on Feb. 8. For legal residents in Kansas, tuition costs per credit hour are making a $2 increase from $87 to $89, while student fees per credit hour will increase from $19 to $21 for both regular and out-of-state students. This trend follows other students as well with the tuition-per-credit-hour cost for legal out-of-state residents increasing from $118 to $120 and, for international students, from $127 to $129. Many technical career field classes are making price hops with increases in special course fees, many of which require special supplies or food for students. AC/DC Circuits is first on the list with an increase from $130 to $315 in order to fund a tool kit and bag required for wiring classes and labs. By adding this to the class cost, students will then have the tools required when they move into their career. The course required in order to earn a Commercial Driver’s License will make a $150 increase from $625 last year to $775. Many classes within the fire Sscience program will have increased costs due to
Track
• Continued from Page 6 most recent national qualifier, as he ran a 8:53.86 in the 3,000, placing 13th overall. On the women’s side, the distance medley relay team qualified for nationals with a time of 13:20.73.
an increased cost of materials, such as wrecked cars used during Fire Science Basic Vehicle Extrication, where the price is increasing from $40 to $60 per student per credit hour. Additional increases in other fire classes are due to various materials and to cover the cost of necessary consumables. The nursing program will also see a slight increase in class costs, particularly in the Nursing A.D.N Transition Lab, in which the required IV supplies have dramatically increased in price. “IV supplies have increased considerably,” according to the document provided from the meeting. “Mainly because of the disaster in Puerto Rico where the majority of the supplies are made.” However, nursing students taking Health Maintenance Promotion and Restoration Practicum will see a $25 decrease in their course fee, due to their supplies being sourced from a different company. The next program with the most increases in course cost is the welding program, also due to an increase in the cost of materials needed and how many materials are needed for welding, such as stainless steel, aluminum, gas, consumables and updating machinery and other equipment. Most cost increases for welding are comparatively low with the largest increase being in welding courses raising from $20 to $50. The team consisted of freshman Sarah Patteson, sophomore Marshelle Conley, freshman Saw Ahmara and sophomore Maggie Lambert. They placed eighth overall. Sophomore Alex Rodriguez finished 16th in the 20-pound weight throw, as she threw 49-7 ¾ inches.
Courtesy of iMore
Courtesy of iMore
The Hutchinson Collegian Friday, February 16, 2018
Sports
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Hall of Fame induction
Allie Schweizer/Collegian The members of the 2018 Hutchinson Community College Quarterback Club Hall of Fame were inducted Saturday at the Sports Arena during halftime of the men’s basketball game. From left are, four members of Richard Morsden’s family, a basketball player from the early 1970s, golfer Grady Pauls, baseball player Thad Weber and baseball player Tim Olson.
Softball opens season in style by sweeping Pratt By Amanda Carney Staff writer Hutchinson Community College softball started of its season with a bang, winning its first two games of the season against Pratt, 16-1, and 8-1 at Fun Valley Sports Complex. The season started off right, with eight of the nine Blue Dragons having at least one hit. Among the nine are the top three hitters for the Blue Dragons. Combined Kiara DeCrane, Izzy Godinez, and Brittany Reynolds had nine runs, and 10 RBI’s. DeCrane had two singles, a homer along with six RBIs. Godinez was 4 for 4 and also scored four runs, along with three RBI’s. This is Godinez’s second game in Blue Dragon history with a four-hit game against Pratt. Reynolds is not far behind Godinez by going 3 for 4 with a double, three runs and one RBI. D.J. Cannon, sophomore, also had a game to remember. Cannon not only won her 19th game as
Baseball takes opening series at Coffeyville By Amanda Carney Staff writer
Joel Powers/HutchCC Sports Information Hutchinson Community College’s Ashton Reynolds slides into home plate during the Blue Dragons’ season-opening sweep of Pratt at Fun Valley Sports Complex. Game 2 was no bases by allowing three sealed the deal in the fourth a Blue Dragon but she also different for the Blue leadoff walks, but didn’t with a Godinez RBI single, achieved 200 strikeouts. Dragons. let Pratt score. Schulze and DeCrane with a twoCannon had six strikeouts, Destiny Schulze manhad four strike outs, and run double. and four hits in Game 1 aged to stay cool when the six walks, allowing four Godinez and DeCrane against Pratt, leading the game got a little difficult. singles. both had two hits and two Blue Dragons to a 16-1 Schulze had loaded the The Blue Dragons RBI’s. victory.
Men’s basketball beats Barton, women snap skid with road win By The Collegian staff
Allie Schweizer/Collegian Hutchinson Community College’s Sal Nuhu goes up for a dunk during a game earlier this season against Neosho County at the Sports Arena.
The Hutchinson Community College men’s basketball team won a big Jayhawk Conference game on Wednesday in Great Bend, beating Barton Community College 85-72 and tying Barton for first place in the conference. Coffeyville is also tied for first place. All three teams are 18-4 in conference play, and all three are 22-4 overall. Barton and Coffeyville still have to play each other again. James Rojas came off the bench to lead the Blue Dragons on Wednesday. The freshman from Jamestown, New York, made 8 of 12 shots and scored 22 points. He added seven rebounds, two assists and a steal. Devonte Bandoo also had a big game. The sophomore from Brampton, Ontario scored 19 points and also had seven rebounds and six assists. Sophomore Robert Whitfield chipped in 16 points and nine rebounds. The Blue Dragons started sharply, scoring the game’s first seven points. Barton caught up
twice early on but never had the lead. Women rebound from two losses – After suffering rare back-to-back losses, the HutchCC women’s basketball team came back Wednesday at Barton and won comfortably 75-57. Five Blue Dragons scored at least 10 points in a balanced attack. Jada Mickens, a Liberal freshman, led the way with 13 points and eight rebounds. Kelsey Brett had 12 points, Dejanae Roebuck scored 11, and Sara Cramer and Alicia Brown added 10 points each. The Blue Dragons, who lost those consecutive games at home to Garden City and Butler, made 53.8 percent of their shots against Barton. HutchCC never railed in the game, and the only tie it was tied was 2-2. The Blue Dragons are tied with Cowley for third place at 17-5 in the Jayhawk Conference, with four games to go. HutchCC trails second-place Independence by a game and first-place Seward County by three. HutchCC will play Cowley on Saturday at the Sports Arena.
The No. 7 Hutchinson Community College baseball team got its first win Feb. 8, on Opening Day at Coffeyville, winning 11-1. They lost the second game of the series on Feb. 8, 7-6, but won the third game later that day, 10-1. Scoring five runs in the fourth inning, with the help of sophomore Wyatt Divis’ three-run double, propelled the Blue Dragons into the lead and they never looked back. Julian Rip was the highlight of the fifth inning, hitting a home run, his fourth is his career. The Blue Dragons went on to score four more runs in the fifth inning, giving them the lead. Matt Hopkins struck out five in earning the win, allowing two hits and one run. Ryan Summer stepped in pitching three innings and allowed no hits. The Blue Dragons trailed in the last inning 5-2 in game one on Friday. Bobby Morgensen had a two run single and Sartori tied the game with a sacrifice. In the eighth inning the Dragons lead 6-5. Brock Schaffer hit a double earing a RBI for pinch-runner Crit Williams. Up to bat, two hits later Morgensen singles but Schaffer was out at first. Wyatt Divis, Riley Metzger, Schaffer and Nedved all had hits for the Dragons. In game one, Morgensen was the only Blue Dragon with multiple hits. Divis pitched four innings, allowing six hits, three run and walking one. Divis had six strike outs. Miguel Reyes finished, working 3 1/3 innings, having four strikeouts and two hits. Reyes had committed two errors and only allowed one run. After having a disappointing early Friday morning, the Blue Dragons came back with a fight. Logan Sartori lead the way in offense. Sartori doubled in Wyatt Divis, in a two-run first inning. Satori had three doubles, two runs, and four RBIs, leading the Blue Dragons. Dylan Nedved went 3 for 4 with two RBI’s. Garrett Stephens also had two RBIs in the game. Freshman Mason Palmer started for the Blue Dragons, striking out three.
Sports New season, new role
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The Hutchinson Collegian Friday, February 16, 2018
Athlete of the week
(Feb. 4-10) Alex Grays, men’s indoor track and field The week: Grays set a school record in the 200 meters at the 3rd Annual Indoor Gorilla Classic in Pittsburg. Grays Grays finished second in the event with a time of 21.33 seconds. Grays broke the school record by .07 seconds, set by former HutchCC national champion Teddy Poole. The season: Grays is a national-meet qualifier in the 60 and 200. Grays’ best time in the 60 was 6.85.
Hutchinson Community College sophomore Tiylar Cotton goes in for a layup during a game earlier this season at the Sports Arena. As a returning player from last year’s national championship team, Cotton’s role has changed, and he is a regular contributor for the Blue Dragons. Allie Schweizer/ Collegian
Wichita native will be needed for another long postseason run By Lucas Barlow Sports Editor As the postseason nears for the Hutchinson Community College men’s basketball team, veteran players will have to step up as leaders to help get the Blue Dragons in top form for the regional and, maybe, the national tournament in March. One of those players is sophomore guard Tiylar Cotton. Cotton was a member of last year’s team that went 35-2 en route to the NJCAA national championship. One year later, he hopes to return to the championship game as a much more experienced and well-rounded player.
Born and raised in Wichita, Cotton attended Wichita North High School, where he was a 2016 graduate. He is one of the two current players on the Blue Dragon roster who hail from Kansas. Cotton decided to play at HutchCC because he felt they had a great coaching staff, and indeed they do. Since head coach Steve Eck’s arrival in 2009, the Blue Dragons had amassed a 231-46 record prior to this season. Cotton played in almost every game his freshman year, only absent in five games. He averaged 9.2 minutes per game, as he had to play behind Hutchinson all-time great guard Samajae Haynes-
Jones, who now plays at Wichita State. Throughout the year, Cotton posted solid totals for the amount of time he played. After his team won the national championship in 2017, Cotton listed it as one of his greatest accomplishments. “Winning a national championship was an unreal feeling,” Cotton said. “We had been working all year for that, and when the time came, it seemed like a dream.” This season is a bit different for Cotton. He now has doubled his minutes per game, and his role for the team has changed. The game against Pratt on Jan. 24 was his best
game yet – he posted a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds, while also getting six assists. With only four games left in the regular season, Cotton looks to stay focused “My goals for the rest of the season are to just focus on winning the rest of our conference games,” Cotton said. “After that, then we can worry about regionals and nationals.” The Blue Dragons are currently 21-4 (17-4 conf.) and ranked No. 14th in the country. They will next play Saturday at the Sports Arena against Cowley. It will also be the college’s annual Pink Out Night.
HutchCC track still breaking records By Lucas Barlow Sports Editor
The Hutchinson Community College track and Field teams were split up between two different locations this weekend in Highland and Pittsburg. However, it was the Gorilla Relays that saw another school record go down. The men’s indoor 4x400-meter relay team, which already qualified for nationals, broke a school record last weekend. The freshman team consisting of Fred Gonsalvies, Donovan Whitmore, Denilson Whitmore and Elijah Smith posted a 3:16.84, beating the old 1987 record by just over a second. Running against many other Division-I teams, the team placed ninth overall. Freshman Alex Grays also broke the school record in the indoor 200, as he ran a 21.33 - .07 seconds faster than the previous record set in 2007. Freshman Jared Stark is the Blue Dragons See Track, Page 4
Blue Dragon sports schedules, results. All home games, events in caps. Baseball
Feb. 10, at Coffeyville, W 11-1 Feb. 11, at Coffeyville, L 7-6, W 10-1 Feb. 15, at Northeast Texas, 1 p.m. Feb. 16, at Northeast Texas, noon Feb. 20, INDEPENDENCE, 2 p.m. Feb. 23, at Rose State, 3 p.m. Feb. 24, at Rose State, 2 p.m. Feb. 25, at Rose State, 1 p.m. Feb. 27, REDLANDS, 1 p.m. March 1, COLBY, 1 p.m. March 3, at Colby, 1 p.m. March 6, vs. Seminole State at Edmond, Oklahoma, 6:30 p.m. March 8, at Cloud County, 1 p.m. March 10, CLOUD COUNTY, 1 p.m. March 14, NORTH IOWA, 3 p.m. March 15, BUTLER, 2 p.m. March 17, at Butler, 1 p.m. March 20, COWLEY, 2 p.m. March 22, at Barton, 1 p.m. March 24, BARTON, 1 p.m. March 27, Cowley, 2 p.m. March 29, DODGE CITY, 2 p.m. March 31, at Dodge City, 1 p.m. April 3, at Independence, 2 p.m. April 5, at Garden City, 3 p.m. April 7, GARDEN CITY, 1 p.m. April 10, at Barton, 5 p.m. April 13, at Longview, 1 p.m. April 14, at Longview, noon April 19, PRATT, 1 p.m. April 21, at Pratt, 1 p.m.
April 24, at Redlands, 2 p.m. April 26, at Seward County, 3:30 p.m. April 28, SEWARD COUNTY, 2 p.m.
Men’s basketball
Nov. 1, FRIENDS JV, W 102-56 Nov. 3, NORTH LAKE, W 87-62 Nov. 4, NEO A&M, W 87-42 Nov. 7, at Tabor JV, W 125-61 Nov. 11, at Seward County, W 76-69 Nov. 15, at Cloud County, L 82-79 OT Nov. 18, at Pratt, W 109-100 Nov. 21, COFFEYVILLE, W 99-62 Nov. 25, at Neosho County, W 76-64 Nov. 29, COLBY, W 89-65 Dec. 2, at Garden City, W 68-64 Dec. 6, at Butler, W 82-81 Dec. 9, BARTON, W 81-73 Jan. 3, at Cowley, L 81-74 Jan. 6, ALLEN, W 103-75 Jan. 10, at Independence, W 76-74 Jan. 13, DODGE CITY, L 72-70 Jan. 17, SEWARD COUNTY, W 83-60 Jan. 20, CLOUD COUNTY W 95-63 Jan. 24, PRATT, W 104-84 Jan. 27, at Coffeyville, L 72-70 Jan. 31, NEOSHO COUNTY, W 105-95 Feb. 4, at Colby, W 67-62 Feb. 7, GARDEN CITY, W 92-82 Feb. 10, BUTLER, W 79-68 Feb. 14, at Barton, W 85-72 Feb. 17, COWLEY, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 21, at Allen County, 8 p.m.
Feb. 24, INDEPENDENCE, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 26, at Dodge City, 7:30 p.m.
Women’s basketball
Nov. 1, BETHANY JV, W 81-35 Nov. 7, LAMAR, W 82-45 Nov. 11, at Seward County, L 60-47 Nov. 15, at Cloud County, L 70-63 Nov. 18, at Pratt, W 64-31 Nov. 21, COFFEYVILLE, W 63-53 Nov. 25, at Neosho County, W 75-62 Nov. 29, COLBY, W 90-46 Dec. 2, at Garden City, W 73-59 Dec. 6, at Butler, W 59-53 Dec. 9, BARTON, W 72-53 Dec. 29, Santa Fe, at Bradenton, Florida, W 67-57 Dec. 30, at Florida Southwestern, W 60-56 Jan. 3, at Cowley, W 78-70 Jan. 6, ALLEN, W 77-54 Jan. 10, at Independence, W 56-53 Jan. 13, DODGE CITY, W 74-47 Jan. 17, SEWARD COUNTY, L 62-49 Jan. 20, CLOUD COUNTY, W 66-64 OT Jan. 24, PRATT, W 71-47 Jan. 27, at Coffeyville, W 62-43 Jan. 31, NEOSHO COUNTY, W 91-50 Feb. 4, at Colby, W 93-39 Feb. 7, GARDEN CITY, L 56-48 Feb. 10, BUTLER, L 57-54 Feb. 14, at Barton, W 75-57 Feb. 17, COWLEY, 5:30 p.m. Feb. 21, at Allen County, 6 p.m. Feb. 24, INDEPENDENCE, 5:30 p.m.
Feb. 26, at Dodge City, 5:30 p.m.
Softball
Feb. 9, PRATT, W 16-1, W 8-0 Feb. 10, COLBY, ppd. Feb. 14, at Barton, W 6-1, W 9-4 Feb. 23, at Murray State, noon Feb. 27, Rose State, 2 p.m. March 1, at Oklahoma Wesleyan JV, 3 p.m. March 6, at Cloud County, 2 p.m. March 9, at Garden City, 2 p.m. March 13, HESSTON, 2 p.m. March 16, COFFEYVILLE, 2 p.m. March 17, LABETTE, 1 p.m. March 21, STERLING JV, 1 p.m. March 23, at Johnson County, 2 p.m. March 24, at Fort Scott, 2 p.m. March 28, TABOR JV, 3 p.m. April 3, at Independence, 2 p.m. April 6, HIGHLAND, 2 p.m. April 7, KANSAS CITY, 1 p.m. April 11, at Sterling JV, 3 p.m. April 13, at Allen County, 2 p.m. April 14, at Neosho County, 1 p.m. April 17, COWLEY, 3 p.m. April 24, BETHANY JV, 5 p.m.
Track and field (indoor)
Feb. 9-10, at Gorilla Classic, Pittsburg Feb. 15-16, at Region 6 Championship, Highland March 2-3, at NJCAA Championship, Lubbock, Texas