Kogo, No. 4 Blue Dragons Dominate Terry Masterson Twilight Classic
Information obtained from HCC officials
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Sophomore Cornelius Kogo captured his first collegiate victory Friday night as fourth-ranked Hutchinson Community College swept the top four positions to win the Terry Masterson Twilight Classic at Fun Valley.
The Blue Dragons posted a near-perfect team score of 18 points to claim their second Masterson Twilight championship in the 10-year history of the event. The performance broke the previous meet record low score of 23 points set by Cloud County in 2019.
Kogo led a Blue Dragons charge that saw the team place five runners in the top 10. His winning time of 20:04.10 ranked as the 15th-fastest in meet history and established him as the second Blue Dragon to claim the Masterson Twilight individual title, joining All-American Andrew Kibet.
"This was exactly the kind of statement we wanted to make early in the season," said Blue Dragons coach [name not provided in source]. The victory marked Hutchinson's fifth top-three finish in the event's history.
Sophomore Titus Kiprotich followed Kogo across the line in second place with a time of 20:25.41, improving his 2024 performance by seven seconds. His time ranked 16th-best in meet history.
Faren Mangelson claimed third place in 20:27.36, earning a spot among the top 25 fastest times in event history. Freshman Esteban Ortega rounded out Hutchinson's 1-2-3-4 finish, edging Wichita State's Austin Carerra by 0.17 seconds with a time of 20:32.83.
Freshman Esteban Oses Campos added a 10th-place finish in 21:10.55, while Max Ryan completed his Blue Dragons debut with a 45th-place showing in 23:59.13.
Wichita State finished second in the team standings with 48 points, followed by Garden City with 61 points.
The victory continues Hutchinson's strong cross country tradition and provides early momentum for the 2025 season. The Blue Dragons will next compete at the Missouri Southern Stampede on Sept. 20 in Joplin, Missouri, marking their first 5K race of the season.
The dominant performance suggests Hutchinson will be a force to reckon with throughout the season as they pursue national championship contention.