The student voice of Hutchinson Community College
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October 1, 2021
pinion
In an editorial, The Colleigan encourages student interests.
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www.hutchcollegian.com
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Brooke Greene discusses sex trafficking developments and Wayfair theory.
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Homecoming is back after a one-year hiatus, as the world continues to move back to normal.
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Vol. 63 Issue 4
ports
Anwar Lewis, accomplished a 200-yard game in a win over Fort Scott.
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The dreaded crosswalk
By Braedon Martin Staff writer
more, crosses 12th Avenue about three times a day. “I’ve had people just run it, even when I press the button, even (vehicles) coming from a good distance,” Sandoval said. The alternative to the 12th Avenue-signaled crosswalk, is the crosswalk near 13th Avenue and Plum Street. This crosswalk is less safe than 12th Avenue cars’ refusal to stop at the signal. 13th Avenue, however, has no flashing lights. It is completely unguarded aside from the painted path across the road. “I mean, if people aren’t gonna stop when it’s flashing (at 12th Avenue), why would they stop when nothing is flashing?” Sandoval said. When students are crossing either crosswalk, most cars at minimum slow down to allow students to cross, at least in front of their own car. Many vehicles, however, do not wait for the student to make it all the way across, and will power through the intersection as soon as they can. While parking is something everyone has to deal with, especially parking close enough to get to class on time, it’s up to those who drive the streets around HutchCC to ensure that they follow traffic laws, and pay attention to any signals on the roads, in order to ensure safety near the HutchCC campus.
Parking. It’s something most students and staff on campus have to deal with, especially trying to find a parking spot close to where your classes are. Hutchinson Community College has plenty of parking lots, both on and off campus. The parking lot on the west side of Plum Street between 12th and 13th avenues is one of the more popular lots, and it has two crosswalks for pedestrians to get across the street and onto campus. However, these crosswalks appear to be notoriously unsafe, with ignorant drivers and high traffic volume, as well as minimal pedestrian protection. While both crosswalks are unsafe in their own right, the 12th Avenue crosswalk at least has a crossing signal, with a yellow flashing light that can be activated on either side, to attempt to stop vehicles while pedestrians are crossing. However, Kira Bryant, Hutchinson freshman, said vehicles don’t stop often, even when the signal is active. Every day, likely hundreds of pedestrians cross the 12th Avenue parking lot, and reckless drivers put them at risk as they gun through the crosswalk, even with the signal active. Jose Sandoval, Hutchinson sopho-
A helping hand
By Connor Keating Staff Writer
In today’s society, mental health is an important topic, especially thanks to the Covid pandemic and the general polarizing political climate. Thus, it’s important for students who might struggle with mental health to know what options are provided at Hutchinson Community College. Melody Wagler is a social worker stationed in the Student Success Center at Parker Student Union, and she works to help students with a variety of needs like mental health, transportation needs, child care needs, and more. “I’m one of the therapists here. So I’ll also do therapy besides meeting with people for social work related needs,” Wagler said. “So I’ll meet with students one on one for therapy.” Prior to coming to HutchCC, Wagler was a therapist at Horizons Mental Health Center in Hutchinson. She was hired at HutchCC during COVID, and was even funded through COVID funding. “Social work is absolutely right,
needing those physical needs for people, looking for mental health support for people, those types of things absolutely related to COVID,” Wagler said. “Coming here being able to offer free therapy services, I love, love, that piece of what I do here. I think that’s an incredible piece of making it accessible to people.” Wagler also teaches the Psychology of Happiness class, which she took over from Christopher Lau. “It’s very related to being a therapist,” Wagler said. “I love the practices that we’re doing that can grow or help people become more aware of their happiness.” It’s important for people to think seriously about physical and mental needs, especially college students. Wagler said she is always willing to help out in providing services for students. Whether you need something as simple as a toothbrush, or a therapist, she is happy to help out. Her work in a variety of subjects related to social work allow her to be flexible in the different areas she can help out in.
Photos by Shelby Spreier/Collegian Leah Reusser pushes crosswalk button and the Plum and 12th crosswalk. The flashing lights are the only way to make crossing the street easier on students.
Chloe Coupe (above) and Pierce Markham (below) practicing safe crossing at this busy crosswalk. Traffic is known not to stop for pedestrians along Plum Street.
Photo by Connor Keating/Collegian Melody Wagler in her office, located in Parker Student Union, ready to help any student in need.
Upcoming events Oct. 6 — Volleyball vs Seward County at the Hutchinson Sports Arena at 6 p.m. Soccer vs Barton at the Salthawk Sports Complex at 6 p.m. Oct. 9 —Football vs Independence at Gowans Stadium at Oct. 13 — Volleyball vs Colby at the Hutchinson Sports Arena at 6 p.m. Oct. 15 — Fall break, college closed
The happenings around campus
College Student Weather Report Friday High: 74; Low 59 Fall? Is that you? Saturday High: 73; Low 55 The moment we’ve all been waiting for... Sunday High: 75; Low 48 Bust out the hot choccy. Weather source: accuweather.com
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Opinion
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Our view: Be yourself The Hutchinson Collegian encourages you to be unapologetically enthusiastic about your hobbies. It’s heard way too often where someone is apologizing for their hobbies and interests. Never be sorry for your interests. If it makes you excited and giddy, ramble about them. Rest assured, it’s endearing to hear about even if the other person has no idea on what you’re rambling on about. If you’re obsessed with Garfield and want to get a vintage Garfield phone, then get it. There’s no such thing as cringe interests. The only time someone is cringe is when they’re rude about someone else’s interest. Unless your interest
Crunchy Soda
is rude in nature, like claiming you’re another race instead of just appreciating them, then revel in your interests. Even if you think your interests are boring, I’m sure someone would love to hear you ramble about the different specks of dust in the air. As far as it is known, humans only have one life. Why hold yourself back and shy away to what make you, you. Even if it’s an uncommon interest, revel in it. We beg for you to express yourself. Even if it makes others see you as “weird”. So what are you waiting for? Go out there and be the most you that you can be. For the Collegian Editorial Board
E. G. Weinhoffer/Cartoonist
Take a chance on something different Here I am, in my second year of the I am a huge believer in carpe diem. nursing program and year three with Cheesy, I know, but life is short so we the Collegian, busy as a bee but loving truly need to make the most out of the it. time we have. I embraced an opportuI am 21-years old and nity that was presented to have been blessed with so me, and I’m very glad I many incredible opportudid. nities in my life. Another huge opportuA few of them have been nity I’m blessed to have very unexpected, but I’m is taking a trip out of the glad I’ve taken them. country. For as long as I can I saw a post on Facebook remember I’ve wanted to almost three years ago work in the medical field. about a trip to Italy sponIn high school, I decided sored by HutchCC. I joked I was destined for nursing with my best friend about school. signing up. I knew this path would What started as a joke is involve an abundance of now our soon-approaching reality. In science and math classes. eight short months, I will be spending a What I didn’t realize was that my journey would also include journalism. week traveling to Florence and Rome. If I would’ve told myDuring my sopho“Taking risks self five years ago I would more year at Hutchinson be doing this, I would’ve Community College, is scary. Gettold you you’re crazy. I’m one year before I started ting out of your a small-town girl, workthe nursing program, my ing a part-time job while best friend became the comfort zone going to school full time. editor-in-chief for the is scary. TryThere’s no way I’m going Collegian. ing new things to fly across the world and She came to me and spend a week in a new invited me to join the staff is scary. The country with a group of as a writer. I was very scary is good. strangers. hesitant at first. I had no Yet here we are. Life is journalism experience Opportunities crazy like that sometimes. whereas a good majority like this don’t Taking risks is scary. of the staff were jourGetting out of your comnalism majors. I was the around every fort zone is scary. Trying black sheep, but I stepped day. Embrace new things is scary. out of my comfort zone the chances The scary is good. and took the plunge. Opportunities like this I’m so glad I did, you’re given don’t come around every because I found a family. and live life to day. Embrace the chances College is a crazy place, you’re given and live life but I found a place that the fullest.” to the fullest. You never I felt welcomed and that know how much life you I belonged. Though I have left to live, and who knows, it thought of myself as a black sheep, may turn out to be one of the best decithey never made me feel that way. I sions you make. found my people. I won an award at the annual Kansas Collegiate Media contest during my Laci Sutton is Nickerson senior studying first year, and felt an improvement in nursing. She is the Collegian opinion page my writing with each article I wrote. editor.
Columnist
Laci Sutton
The Hutchinson Collegian The student voice of Hutchinson Community College
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The Hutchinson Collegian Friday, October 1, 2021
I have a lot of questions about Tucker Carlson
half. “I lie, if I’m really cornered or This raises a lot of questions. something, I lie,” said the biggest Why don’t they show us the pleated newsman in the world, Tucker Carlpair of slacks that we’ve son, while having a all been dying to see? Well, meeting of the minds I would like to posit the with intellectual powpossibility that he’s wearing erhouse Dave Rubin. two pairs of pants. Why? He added “I try not Because the bottom half of to, I try never to lie on his body is that of a horse. TV, I don’t like lying, I certainly do it.” Think about it, it almost Despite being a makes too much sense. He, journalistic demigod, in his natural state, is way Dave Rubin forgot to too red all the time to have ask him what sort of a circulatory system that things he lies about. He merely meets the needs of must’ve been preochumans. It has to be because Brendan Ul cupied thinking about of his horse veins. He also has had the how much he loves freedom. Totally understandable. Dave opportunity throughout his life to be around a lot of equestrians since he is Rubin is like George Orwell to the Abraham Lincolnth power. Anyways the heir to the Swanson’s TV Dinner this leaves the issue to be explored by Fortune. It stands to reason that he true independent journalists, like me. may have caught it from them. Thank you Dave Rubin. I know what you libs are probably I went through some of Carlson’s thinking, “but I saw his legs all the old claims to see where he may have time on CNN’s Crossfire, what are stretched the truth. Mostly just the you even talking about, is this guy hits; Biden is controlled by Marxists; being serious?” Which is just the epitimmigrants are trying to take the ome of feigning ignorance to dismiss country from us; I, Tucker Carlson, the truth. Everyone knows that it takes like fishing; but they all checked out. the centaur virus 15 years to incubate Though when I was rewatching in the body before it emerges, and these clips, I noticed something a little if you didn’t know that you have no strange, he never shows his legs. business sharing your opinion. Now, on the surface, this may not This part is just for Carlson, so seem that strange. The face shots have stop reading if your brother’s name is been the standard in cable news for Buckley Swanson Peck Carlson. quite some time now, but has it been? Tucker, last night I had a dream that I mean, Fox News is kind of known I climbed onto your back and you galfor their leg shots, and Fox News only lantly trotted us to Texas together to make a new life for ourselves. I know hires hotties, so it stands to reason that Tucker Carlson should have what you’ve been lying about, I hope some pretty thunderous thighs that we this doesn’t make you feel cornered because I just want you to be you – would all mutually ogle. Like we did when Glenn Beck was on Fox. from your shaggy mane all the way down to your hooves. The mystery of Tucker Carlson’s legs doesn’t just come from Fox, Brendan Ulmer is an Olathe fresheven in that video where he’s conman studying sociology. He is a staff fronted at a Cabelas, notice that the camera never pans down to his bottom writer.
Collegian Staff Editor In Chief Brooke Greene Opinion Page Editor Laci Sutton Sports Editor Joel Muhs Audio Editor Zariah Perilla-Best Online Editor Aubreigh Heck
Social Media Coordinator Jayshaun Jones Editorial cartoonist E. G. Weinhoffer Staff members Cole Deutschendorf, Colton Fast, Savannah Goode, Leslie Grajeda, Connor Keating, Braedon Martin, Danae Moser, Sarah Newberry, Collin Shields, Ben Short, Shelby Spreier, Brendan Ulmer Collegian Adviser Brad Hallier
www.HutchCollegian.com
Columnist
mer
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.
Non-discrimination statement Hutchinson Community College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religion, age, military status, sexual orientation, or any other protected category under federal, state, or local law, or by college policy. For inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies contact: Brett Bright, Coordinator of Equity & Compliance 1300 N. Plum Hutchinson, KS 67501 (620) 665-3500 equity@hutchcc.edu (www.hutchcc.edu/equity)
The Hutchinson Collegian Friday, October 1, 2021
Local/Nation
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Sex trafficking, a different kind of pandemic By Brooke Greene Editor in Chief
Sex trafficking, a subject not talked about as much as it should be, or seen as threatening as it really is. It has rumors and is vaguely discussed. What is sex trafficking? It is illegal transportation and kidnapping for the use of sexual exploitation, and it happens more than many realize. However, there have been recent efforts to target these sexual predators and keep the Hutchinson community, and children safer. The Wayfair sex trafficking conspiracy
got more of the younger generations involved in the idea of the crime and opened a lot of eyes to the danger. While it has not been proven that the conspiracy is true, it provoked conversation. The concept behind it is that Wayfair, a furniture store, was selling cabinets, curtains, and pillows with names and numbers that often matched descriptions of missing persons and were posted for thousands of dollars. It aroused suspicion as there is no reason a basic cabinet should cost $17,000. Dominique Roe-Sepowitz wrote in an email to The Arizona Republic
as cited on azcentral. com, “I am happy that this story is interesting the public, but the victims are most likely not on Wayfair, they (are) right in front of us on 27th Avenue, in our local hotels, online on sex selling websites and dating sites.” People were looking for insane coincidences to blame, but it really could be happening at the end of an average block. According to Stopping Traffic, a nonprofit organization to help these victims, worldwide, 40.3 million people are sexually enslaved, thousands being in the United States. A one-year-old
is the youngest victim of cybersex trafficking that they have met. Only 1% of victims survive or return home to their families, meaning 99% are never seen again. And 80% of survivors never receive any help with recovery from their experiences. This organization accepts donations and provides information on what sex trafficking entails. There are red flags to watch out for to protect yourself and others, such as misleading posters and advertisements, uncomfortable dates or discussions from dating websites, frequent visitors to the same hotels, or
obvious signs of physical abuse. In any community, this could look like a suspicious flyer for a job. They often have no business logo, vague information and may be something along the lines of nanny work, lawn care, assisting the elderly, or dog walking. If you are worried about a job application like this, look into it carefully before continuing. People involved in sex trafficking may not be in control of their own lives at that point, hence why their services continue. They could be involved to pay off debts, gain passports,
freedom, shelter, or protection from other threats. These ‘workers’ are slaves, whether they voluntarily got involved or were forced in hopes of obtaining some form of freedom. Many, however, never leave this work as they are not released, often held captive, shipped around, and sometimes killed once they are no longer useful. If you know anybody who displays signs of being involved in human sex trafficking, report it right away. It could save others involved in the same chain.
“Sex Trafficking” by C. Elle is licensed with CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-ncsa/2.0/
Campus
The Hutchinson Collegian Friday, October 1, 2021
Sniff out a new furry friend
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Students get well at Wellness Fair
Wag your tails for the Hutchinson Animal Shelter
Photo above (from left to right) Savannah Stubbs, Alena Taylore and Vanessa Harrison pose with props at a photo booth. Photo on the left, free plants offered to students from the Greenhouse Club.
Photo by Maegan Vincent /Staff Writer
Duck, a 10 month old black lab mix, sits pretty for the camera. By Maegan Vincent Staff Writer
The Hutchinson Animal Shelter is home to a multitude of dogs and cats waiting to be adopted. Right now the shelter is overrun with kittens and are in need of foster parents. Fosters take the animal - or animals - out of the hands of the shelter and take care of them from their own home. It benefits not only the shelter but the animal as well, as the animal can get constant care and attention while also being provided more space to play and run around. The shelter offers other programs like the ‘The Lucky Dog Program’. A dog is temperament tested, and if they are friendly enough, they are entered into this program. These dogs then receive basic training from Hutchinson Correctional Facility inmates and learn to sit, stay, and lay down. They are housebroken, crate trained, and learned how to walk with a leash on. The other program the shelter offers is the ‘Barn Cat Program’. This shelter takes in cats that were once outdoor or feral (wild), and this program gives those cats a chance to roam around outdoors, whether it be a farm or a warehouse. They possibly can help control rodent problems while, giving them the freedom they are used to.
Outdoor and feral cats typically don’t like or want human affection, which makes it hard for them to get adopted into homes. These cats aren’t meant to be pets, so this program helps them get adopted without having to take the cats out of their comfort zones. The adoption process for any dog or cat at the Hutchinson Animal Shelter is simple. First, you fill out the application. The workers first and foremost make sure your home is fit to have an animal in it. If you rent your home or apartment, they will call your landlord to make sure you are allowed to have pets. They do this to prevent the animal from being kicked out. If you have any other animals, they will call your vet to make sure your animal is up to date on all their vaccinations. It’s important that your pets are friendly and get along with other animals because they also want to prevent the rescue from having to return to the shelter only a few weeks later. Finally, the shelter will spay or neuter the animal before they can go home with you. The Hutchinson Animal Shelter is located at 1501 S. Severance St. They are open by appointment only right now, and can be called at 620694-1924.
Photos by Savannah Goode/Collegian
The Hutchinson Collegian Friday, October 1, 2021
Campus
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Puzzles
They’re back ... Maybe
Puzzle 1 (Medium, difficulty rating 0.49)
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It may have taken a few minutes, but the Hutchinson Community College football team finally arrived in emphatic fashion as the Blue Dragons throttled Fort Scott 55-6 Saturday night at Gowans Stadium. After starting the season 0-2 with losses coming to Coffeyville and Butler, the Blue Dragons found their championship groove from a season ago, coming off a bye-week with a dominant performance over Fort Scott. “It’s fun to watch them play football and fun to watch them play well. I mean, that’s exciting,” HutchCC coach Drew Dallas said on their first win of the season. “They came to work for two weeks and ended up getting a win out of it, and it’s because of the hard work they put in during that time. With the start that we’re off to, they very easily could have folded up shop and not coming out and worked hard and just kind of gone through the motions, and they didn’t do that” The Blue Dragons put their foot on the gas early and often to start the game, scoring on their first three offensive possessions, which resulted in a 17-0 lead at the end of the first quarter and propelled them to a 27-6 lead at halftime. “It’s great. We finally got our mojo back, is the way I think about it,” sophomore quarterback Dylan Laible said. “The last three weeks were kind of rough for us, but now we’re back on track and about to win the rest of
the season.” After the disappointing 0-2 start following a national championship, the Blue Dragons found their championship energy from a season ago that was lacking to start the season. “I thought at times they just kind of hit those lulls in the second quarter a little bit, but I mean, for the most part we were excited to be out there playing a football game,” Dallas said on the energy level of his players throughout the game. “We were hungry, we had a bad taste in our mouth and two weeks of sitting off with a bad taste in your mouth you want to get back out there and play and that’s why these guys are here to play football.” Confidence has been hard to accumulate for HutchCC in the early stages of the season. However, the big win over Fort Scott can help provide momentum for the remainder of the season. “I think it just teaches us how to win,” Dallas said on a potential confidence boost following the win. “We hadn’t won a football game yet this (season) and even though it’s early in the season, every win you have you got to enjoy it. It teaches us how to do it and the things we got to improve on to continue to get better.” Although it wasn’t the picture perfect start to the season like the previous one, the goal remains the same for the Blue Dragons, which is to hoist a trophy at the end of the season. “There’s only one goal and that’s to win the conference championship game,” Laible said.
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With the 2021-2022 school year being the first relatively normal school year in almost since the Covid pandemic started, that means many activities and events will be coming back in full swing. Hutchinson Community College will resume homecoming activities, which will be going on all throughout next week, until Saturday where the Blue Dragons football team will take on the Independence Pirates at Gowans Stadium. At halftime, the traditional homecoming king and queen will be crowned. As for other activities throughout the week, Monday marks the beginning of the preliminary voting, and for the first clue for the Royal Merchant Treasure Hunt, which studnets can find on Dragon Zone under the student life tab. On Tuesday, Skateland, 3101 N Lorranie St., will be rented out for HutchCC students. There will be competition for dressing like a Pogue or a Kook, a style of people pursuing a life that is everything fun and nothing not. This is based on the Netflix series “The Outerbanks”. Winners of the competition can win t-shirts.
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Wednesday will mark the last day for voting, and there will be a Blue Dragon volleyball match against Seward County at the Sports Arena, and the soccer team plays against Barton at the Salthawk Sports Complex. Students attending the soccer game that day can expect to receive a travel mug. The trampoline park at the Wichita Sports Forum will be rented out for students to get in for free with their student IDs on Thursday. Then Friday evening, Great Western Dining will be serving “Outerbanks” esque cuisine in the cafeteria.
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Generated by http://www.opensky.ca/sudoku on Fri Sep 17 17:19:19 2021 GMT. Enjoy!
Hutch CC golfer Harry Crockett studies a putt at the national tournament in the spring. Photo by Hutch CC sports information
Homecoming events Monday - King/Queen voting begins, 9 a.m.; Royal Merchant Treasure Hunt, 11 a.m. Tuesday - Skating party, 8 p.m., at Skateland. Wednesday - Assembly at Gowans Stadium, 10:30 a.m.; Final King/Queen voting begins, 11:30 a.m.; soccer game, 6 p.m.; volleyball match, 6 p.m. Thursday - HutchCC Nite at Wichita Sports Forum, 8 p.m. Friday - Outer Banks Cuisine for dinner, 5 p.m. Saturday - Blue Dragon football vs. Independence, noon
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Homecoming returns after one-year hiatus By Colton Fast Staff writer
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Photo by HutchCC Sports Information Rykem Ferguson-Laney runs in for a touchdown and is met by teammate Sloan Hayden to celebrate.
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Roundup: Golf team continues their undefeated streak By Ben Short Staff Writer
The Hutchinson Community College men’s golf team won its seventh straight tournament on Tuesday. Blue Dragon sophomore and 2021 NJCAA first-team All-American Harry Crockett tied for the MSSU individual championship with Oklahoma Christian’s Mateo Pulcini at 3-under 213. Crockett won his third career tournament. Hutch came into the final round of the tournament with a 15-stroke lead but, had a rough start to get their lead shortened to 6, and they ended up being 3 strokes down to Oklahoma Christian. The Blue Dragons held it together and made some clutch putts to get the win. Volleyball - The Blue Dragons lost a tough one to No. 10 Seward County on Tuesday. Losing 3-0 wasn’t pretty as they had a negative hitting percentage for the sec-
ond time this season. Hutchinson fell to 12-9 on the season and 4-5 in the Jayhawk West. The Blue Dragons are off the rest of the week until Saturday, when they travel to Concordia to take on Cloud County at 2 PM and Highland at 4 PM. Soccer - Freshman Hadlie Lowe got Jayhawk Conference player of the week after recording her first career hat trick in a 4-2 win against Dodge City. Lowe’s hat trick is the 90th in Blue Dragon women’s soccer school history. Her third goal of the game was the game-winner, that being her fourth game-winner of the year. Football - C.J. Moya earned Jayhawk Conference special teams player of the week. The sophomore from Florida scored 13 points Saturday night helping the Blue Dragons to a win, 55-6 over Fort Scott. He was 7 for 7 on extra-point attempts and 2 for 2 on field goals, from 22 and 23-yard.Moya is the first Blue Dragon to win this honor in the 2021 season.
Sports
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The Hutchinson Collegian Friday, October 1, 2021
Athlete of the week (Sept. 19-25) C.J. Moya, Football
Photo by Danae Moser/Collegian Freshman Andrea Serrano (left) sets the ball for sophomore Kristina Head (right) in HutchCC’s match against Pratt at the Sports Arena.
No rest for the weary
By Cole Deutschendorf Staff Writer
Two thousand three hundred twenty-four. That’s 2,324 This number probably doesn’t mean anything to you, but it does mean something for the Hutchinson Community College volleyball team. That is the approximate number of miles the Blue Dragons traveled from Sept. 1 through Sept. 24. During this 24-days streak, they have not had more than one day between matches. Despite being driven ragged, the team remains with a winning percentage over .500, currently sitting at 12-9. With almost no time to rest between matches, the season has been a grueling one thus far. “It definitely has affected us, both mentally and physically,”
Blue Dragons coach Delice Downing said. Anyone who has played a sport knows playing a large amount in a short period of time can take its toll on the body and the mind, but the Blue Dragons have been up to the challenge so far. Even with their limited off time, the Blue Dragon practices have remained competitive and energetic. “Sometimes, we practice harder than we play,” Downing said. “They compete against each other just as hard as their opponents. We want to carry that over to our matches, stay that competitive, stay that hungry.” This streak of matches has had multiple highlights, including taking tight 3-2 wins over both Cloud County and Neosho, and a three-match win streak in which they won nine consecutive sets over Laramie County,
Garden City and Pratt. The Blue Dragons are seeking to make it back to the NJCAA Championships after a drought of three years. Downing said that the September schedule would be good practice, if the team was to make it to nationals, as they would not have any days off between matches. “For me, personally, I know that it’s going to make me a stronger person, so I look at it more as a good thing instead of a bad thing,” sophomore captain Kristina Head said. Both Head and Downing agree that the mental aspect of the schedule has arguably been more challenging than the physical aspect of it, as remaining focused during play can become harder as the season progresses. While Head said she has thor-
oughly enjoyed the time she’s been able to spend on and off the court with her teammates, she also has relished the little amount of off time she has had. “A lot of times, if I have a weekend off, I’ll spend some time with my family or friends,” Head said. Over anything else, Downing said she has been happy to see the progress of the team as they become a tighter group. “I feel that they’ve grown as a family,” she said. “They’re going up against their opponents as a unit.” Teamwork is arguably the most important aspect of volleyball, and being able to remain cohesive throughout the toughest stretch of the season has made the bond between the team stronger than ever. Downing and the rest of the team look forward to the challenge of finishing off the season strong.
The week: Moya had a perfect week kicking for the Blue Dragons in their 55-6 win over Fort Scott, the Blue Dragons’ first Moya win of the season. Moya connected on all seven extra-point kicks, and he was also a perfect 2 for 2 on field goals. His first-half field goals from 22 and 23 yards helped the Blue Dragons take a 27-6 halftime lead. He finished game game by scoring 13 points. The season: Moya, a sophomore from Naples, Fla., is 10 for 10 kicking extra points so far this year, and he’s also 4 for 6 kicking field goals. His longest field goal so far this season was a 26-yarder against Butler. Last season during the Blue Dragons national championship season, Moya was a perfect 28 for 28 on extra points and also connectd on 2 of 3 field goals.
Lewis locks in against Greyhounds By Aubreigh Heck Online Editor
With the Hutchinson Community College football team hungry for a win, Anwar Lewis didn’t think this was a “make or break” kind of game. Thanks to 210 rushing yards and two touchdowns, Hutchinson Community College sophomore running back Anwar Lewis helped pave the way for a 55-6 victory against the Fort Scott Greyhounds on Saturday at Gowans Stadium. “We had a good week of practice, we worked hard, we deserved (the win). We were locked in, and we had a chip on our shoulder,” Lewis said. The proverbial chip on the shoulder was their
previous two games, both of which resulted in losses for the Blue Dragons, to Coffeyville and then to Butler. HutchCC fell out of the NJCAA national Top 15, after starting the year at No. 1. Lewis, a running back, scored both his Saturday touchdowns in the third quarter - a 9-yard run to make it 34-6 Blue Dragons, and a 36-yard run to make it 41-6. Lewis also accumulated the majority of his yards in the third quarter, rushing for 114. Lewis accounted for more than half of the rushing yards for the reigning NJCAA national champion, with the team as a whole having a net 409 yards. He averaged 11.1 yards on each of his 19 carries.
Lewis accounted for about 33% of the team’s targets/carries, with the team having 56 all together. Lewis said he wants to use Saturday’s performance and win as an opportunity to stay locked in and focused. After losing their first two games, the Blue Dragons went on a bye week, which helped Lewis a lot. “The bye week helped me become more locked in, more focused and helped me rebuild,” Lewis said. With only four games left in the regular season, and only one being a home game, Lewis has a message for Blue Dragon fans. “Just keep supporting and showing love, it really helps,” he said.
Photo by HutchCC Sports Information Running back Anwar Lewis rushes the ball during the Blue Dragons 55-6 victory over Fort Scott at Gowans Stadium. Lewis finished with 210 rushing yards.
Blue Dragon sports schedules, results. All home games, events in caps. Cross country
Sept. 3, TERRY MASTERSON TWILIGHT CLASSIC Sept. 18, at Muthama-Rodgers Invitational, North Newton, 10:45 p.m. Oct. 2, at Chili Pepper Classic, Fayetteville Ark. Oct. 9, at Fort Hays State Tiger Open, Victoria, 9:45 p.m. Oct. 30, at Region 6 championships, Colby Nov. 13, at NJCAA Championships, Richmond, Va.
Football
Sept. 4, at Coffeyville, L 17-10 Sept. 11, BUTLER, L 43-23 Sept. 25, FORT SCOTT, W 55-6 Oct. 2, at Garden City, 7 p.m. Oct. 9, INDEPENDENCE, noon
Oct. 16, at Highland, TBA Oct. 23, at Dodge City, 1 p.m. Oct. 30, first-round playoffs, TBA
Golf
Sept. 27-28, at Missouri Southern Fall Invitational, Monkey Island, Okla. Oct. 4-5, at West Texas A&M, Amarillo, Texas Oct. 11-12, at Midwestern State Fall Classic, Wichita Falls, Texas Nov. 4-5, at NJCAA National Preview, Odessa, Texas
Soccer
Aug. 20, at Western Wyoming, W 1-0 Sept. 1, at Barton, L 2-1 Sept. 4, JOHNSON COUNTY, L 1-0 Sept. 8, at Garden City, W 2-0 Sept. 11, at Butler, L 5-0
Sept. 15, COWLEY, L 4-2 Sept. 18, at Coffeyville, W 2-1 Sept. 22, at Dodge City, W 4-2 Oct. 2, at Neosho County, ppd Oct. 6, BARTON, 6 p.m. Oct. 9, KANSAS CITY, 2 p.m. Oct. 13, GARDEN CITY, 6 p.m. Oct. 16, at Cowley, 2 p.m. Oct. 20, DODGE CITY, 6 p.m.
Volleyball
Aug. 23, OTTAWA JV, W 3-1 Sept. 1, CLOUD COUNTY, W 3-2 Sept. 3, at McCook, Neb., Tournament; vs. Otero, Colo, W 3-0; vs. North Platte, Neb., W 3-2 Sept. 4, at McCook, Neb., Tournament, vs. McCook, L 3-1; vs. Iowa Western, L 3-0 Sept. 6, at Butler, L 3-0
Sept. 8, GARDEN CITY, W 3-0 Sept. 10, at Grizzly Classic, El Dorado; vs.Neosho County, W 3-2; vs. Rose State, Okla., W 3-0 Sept. 11, at Grizzly Classic, El Dorado, vs. Trinity Valley, Texas, L 3-1 Sept. 13, at Colby, L 3-1 Sept. 15, DODGE CITY, L 3-1 Sept. 17, BLUE DRAGON CLASSIC; vs. Trinity Valley, W 3-0; vs. Jefferson, Mo., W 3-1 Sept. 18, BLUE DRAGON CLASSIC, vs. Laramie County, Wyo., W 3-0; vs. Missouri StateWest Plains, L 3-0 Sept. 20, at Garden City, W 3-0 Sept. 22, PRATT, W 3-0 Sept. 24, at Barton, L 3-1 Sept. 28, at Seward County, L 3-0 Oct. 2, at Highland