March 26, 2021 Collegian

The student voice of Hutchinson Community College

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March 26, 2021

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Honors Student Council will host a food drive competition between student organizations and academic departments. Page 3

NCAA women’s basketball equipment controversy reveals gender inequality in sports. Page 2

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The Blue Dragon golf team adapts to COVID-19 and recent poor weather. The team was ranked No. 1 in the country last fall. Page 3

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Vol. 62 Issue 19

ports

Women’s basketball earns hard-fought win against the Seward County Saints.

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Celebrating historic women

By Zariah Best Staff Writer

It’s Women’s History Month, a time to reflect on the historical impact women have had.

Yes, of course there’s obvious choices, or women who did monumental accomplishes such as: Amelia Earhart, Rosa Parks, Malala Yousafzai, Kamala Harris, and many others.

But there are more women who have changed history, and the world for the better.

Here are six lesser known women from around the world who made history.

Mary Fields Fields began life as a slave in Tennessee sometime around 1832.

She was pushing 60-years old when she Fields won the coveted position of driver/operator by hitching horses in the harness

faster than the male applicants.

Thus, she became “Stagecoach Mary”, the second woman and the first Black to work for the United States Postal Service.

Stagecoach Mary was a beloved local celebrity when she retired at age 71 and passed away in 1914 at age 82.

Maria Corazon Cojuangco Aquino Known as Cory Aquino, she was a Filipino politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines. She was the first Aquino woman to hold that office. Corazon Aquino was the most prominent figure of the 1986 People Power Revolution (The People Power Revolution inspired a call for a change of government through peaceful protests rather than bloodshed). She was named Time Magazine’s Woman of the Year in 1986.

Benazir Bhutto

Bhutto was a Pakistani politician who served as Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1988-1990 and again from 1993-1996. She Bhutto was the first woman to head a democratic government in a Muslim-majority country. Ideologically a liberal and a secularist, she cochaired the Pakistan Peoples Party (the PPP is a centre-left, social-democratic political party of Pakistan). PPP promoted social justice and a strong national defence from the early 1980s until her 2007 assassination.

Marie Maynard Daly

Daly

Born in 1921, Daly was an American biochemist and the first Black woman in the U.S. to earn a

doctorate in chemistry, awarded by Columbia University in 1947. Daly made important contributions in four areas of research - the chemistry of histones, protein synthesis, the relationships between cholesterol and hypertension, and creatine’s uptake by muscle cells. She started a Queens College scholarship fund in her dad’s honor to assist minority students majoring in chemistry or physics.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Ginsburg was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court Ginsburg of the United States from 1993 until her death in September 2020. She was nominated by President Clinton, replacing retiring justice Byron White, and at the time was generally viewed as a moderate consensus-builder.

HutchCC secretary inspired by other extraordinary women

By Brooke Greene Staff Writer

Since 1987, the month of March has been dedicated to women to honor their embarkment of the oppression inflicted on women all over the world.

Women have always been seen as the inferior sex, not as strong, not as smart, not as respectful, which is not the case.

United as a front, women have been able to combat this unnecessary stereotype, slowly but surely gaining more respect and worth in the workforce, politics, sports, and so much more. Shelly Ellis is an excellent example of a strong woman on Hutchinson Community College’s campus who has held many titles and walks with a smile and her head held high.

Q: What position do you hold at HutchCC and how did you get there?

A: My title is Faculty Secretary, Department II. However, my duties have evolved over the five years that I’ve worked here, and I also provide support to out Grant Coordinator and other staff in LH100.

How did I get here? I think my personality and nature is to be of service. I like to help people. My jobs have included records maintenance clerk, bank teller, stay-at-home mom, paraprofessional in a grade school, and secretary.

Q: What other positions have you held with your head high as a woman?

A: When I was 20 I began working at (Strataca) Undergroun Vaults & Storage 650 feet underground, out-

numbered by male coworkers probably 3 to 1. I learned to drive a forklift, became the backup weekend courier driver, and many other tasks that had been allotted to men previously.

OK, so that was probably due to the 3 to 1 ratio, but I still held my head high. For a period of time, my supervisor was Peggy Nikkel. She is an EMS Lab Assistant for HutchCC, and she helped to ensure that - if I worked hard - I was treated as fairly as my male coworkers. I can honestly say she is pretty inspiring!

Q: How do you feel the view of women stands at HutchCC? A: I personally have never felt oppressed based on my gender, and the climate of HutchCC towards women is unbiased. I really don’t feel that it plays a role whatsoever. We have women in many of the various levels of position. Dr. (Cindy) Hoss and Julie Shelly Ellis is a Faculty Secretary at Blanton are both Vice President’s.

Hutchinson Community College who Both men and women sit on our Board greets students with a smiling face every day in Lockman Hall. of Trustees, etc.

Photo

by Brooke Greene/Collegian Q: Are there any other strong womA: A woman’s place is wherever en in your life that inspire you?

A: To name names, the list would be she wants it to be. But she had better be prepared to do the work for it, just too long. I am inspired by the women as anyone. I don’t think we should who are stay-at-home moms raising focus on our gender any more than their children with love. I am inspired we should focus on our height, our by the women who return to school after raising their family. I am inspired weight, or anything else that has no bearing on our abilities to perform the by the single women who don’t let job we work for. Know your strengths, gender roles guide their decisions. I accept your weaknesses, and be willam inspired by the everyday woman who does extraordinary things that are ing to do the work required to do that job you want. I’m not saying gender often left unrecognized. bias doesn’t exist, I’m just saying that Q: What is your opinion on women I haven’t focused on that in my world. growing professionally?

Ginsburg was the first Jewish woman and the second woman to serve on the Court, after Sandra Day O’Connor.

Maryam Mirzakhani

Mirzakhani was an Iranian mathematician and a professor of mathematics at Stanford University. Her Mirzakhani research topics included Teichmüller theory, hyperbolic geometry, ergodic theory, and symplectic geometry. In 2005, she was honored in Popular Science’s fourth annual “Brilliant 10” in which she was acknowledged as one of the top 10 young minds who have pushed their fields in innovative directions. On August 13, 2014, Mirzakhani was honored with the Fields Medal, the most prestigious award in mathematics. She became both the first, and to date, the only woman and the first Iranian to be honored with the award.

Hutchinson bookstore beats back Jeff Bezos

By Kyran Crist Online Editor

Corporations such as Walmart, Barnes and Nobles, Target, and, last but not least, Amazon, are commonly known to have large varieties and stocks of books.

These corporations rival small business book shops, simply by being able to have more affordable prices and larger selections. While small, locally-owned bookstores carry a certain ambiance that larger corporations can’t mimic, it isn’t always enough to make up for the price difference and ease of access.

Amazon holds the top spot as the highest-ranking competitor because of its multi-platform use and ease of online access. The fast shipping is also a big contributor to it’s advantages to obtaining books. Plus, Amazon offers free shipping for orders more than $25.

Though while these things do help, probably their biggest contributor to being preferred over local bookstores is their prices and their Ebooks.

Because why drive to the bookstore, only for them to possibly be out, or have the book but for a higher price than Amazon, when they can be directly sent to your device?

Unfortunately, this is the mindset of most, causing bookstores around the country to close their doors. If you were in Hutchinson last April, you may remember hearing of the popular Bluebird Books closing its doors.

See Books, Page 3

Upcoming events March 26 — Football vs. Coffeyville, at Gowans Stadium, 7 p.m.

March 27 — Men’s and women’s basketball vs. Garden City at the Sports Arena, 5:30 p.m.

March 30 — Computer Connections at Stringer Fine Arts, 10:20 a.m.

April 1 — Career Connections Job Fair, at Sports Arena, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

April 5-9 — Honors Student Council non-perishable Food Drive - Parker Student Union basement.

The happenings around campus

College Student Weather Report Friday High: 69; Low 42 See Vol. 62 issue 5 Saturday High: 64; Low 37 For the record, I didn’t give it permission to be cold Sunday High: 70; Low 45 Imagine a saltine cracker but make it weather Weather source: accuweather.com

Visit and follow us on social media @hutchinsoncollegian @HCC_Collegian the_hutchinson_collegian hutch_collegian

Opinion

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The Hutchinson Collegian Friday, March 26, 2021

This isn’t equality If you’ve been on social media lately, then chances are you’ve seen several posts about the NCAA basketball tournaments.

Your feed is probably filled with score updates, supportive fans and game highlights.

If you’re also like me, you may have also stumbled upon some controversy. What I saw left me momentarily speechless.

Sports are at the heart of our nation. Athletes in well known programs like the NCAA are looked up to by many.

Organizations with such a high reputation should be setting positive examples for all audiences.

In case you haven’t seen the social media posts, allow me to fill you in.

Athletes participating in the NCAA basketball tournaments, specifically women, have spoken up about the inequality happening behind the scenes of the games.

Photos and videos have been shared showing the differences between aspects of the men’s and women’s tournaments.

The main, and to me the most disheartening, differences was the food being served and the weight rooms provided to athletes.

The men’s and women’s teams are playing the exact same game, so why are they not being treated the same?

I first stumbled upon this issue when I was scrolling through TikTok one night. An athlete was showing what the women’s teams were provided for a “weight room” compared to what the men had.

If I was the person in charge of putting these rooms together I would honestly be embarrassed.

The women’s “weight room” in San Antonio had a table of sanitized yoga mats and a pyramid rack of small dumbbells.

The men’s weight rooms in Indianapolis consisted of numerous racks of dumbbells, barbells, resistance bands, and just about any other equipment possibly needed.

With all due respect, what the hell?

They are playing the exact same game but are not provided with the same equipment needed to stay game ready.

The vice president of the NCAA women’s basketball released a statement regarding the issue and blamed the lack of amenities on limited space.

I saw many comments on social media saying that the lack of a proper training facility wasn’t a surprise and was probably because the men’s teams bring in more money.

I can’t say I’ve ever seen a women’s game on primetime television, which if you ask me is total crap.

Why do the men’s teams get all the glory, especially when it’s the exact same sport?

Before now I hadn’t given issues like this much thought, but it piqued my interest after Collegian Editor In Chief Sam Bailey wrote an incredible article recently about softball vs. baseball.

The NCAA fell short this year.

While I’m glad the issue was fixed promptly, it’s incredibly disappointing and shameful that it was a problem to begin with.

If you don’t see an issue with this, then you’re probably part of the problem. We need to do better. This isn’t something that should ever be an issue.

Columnist

E. G. Weinhoffer/Cartoonist

Laci Sutton

Laci Sutton is a Nickerson junior in the nursing program.

Are you serious, Senator Steffen?

Columnist

Aaron Strain

The Hutchinson Collegian The student voice of Hutchinson Community College

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Pick up a book Stop making excuses and pick up a book.

Reading is one of the most beneficial things you can do for yourself, and it doesn’t have to be a dreaded task.

One of the most common things people tend to deal with in their lives is stress.

Reading for just six minutes a day can actually reduce stress levels by 68% (weareteachers.com).

Most of your stress can be gone just by sitting down for a few minutes a day and opening up a book.

When people think of reading, they often think about excessive time commitments they just don’t feel they have, but think about all of the time you waste during your day.

The average person spends 2 hours and 22 minutes on social media every day, according to digitalmarketing. org. If you take those six minutes required to reduce stress and read, the average person would still have over two hours a day to spend scrolling through social media.

This doesn’t even include time we spend waiting on things like a meeting or a plane, time watching TV,

From pushing essential oils as a COVID-19 remedy to rejecting federal funding for Medicaid expansion, State Sen. Mark Steffen, R-Hutchinson, has consistently been on the wrong side of every policy in the past year.

Last week, Steffen said he wants local governments which took action to stop the pandemic’s spread should “feel some pain” by denying them federally-earmarked funds to help impacted businesses.

This is because, according to him, governments that implemented stay-at-home orders and facial covering requirements followed “marginal, marginal, marginal to non-existent scientific data.” Of course, anyone who read peer-re-

Columnist

Sam Bailey or any other time when we aren’t busy.

Reading not only affects stress levels, which can make going about your day far more manageable, it also helps to increase focus, vocabulary, writing skills, and much more.

According to weareteachers.com, “When children have a home library, as little as 20 books of their own, they achieve three more years of schooling than children who don’t have any books at home.”

Just imagine what three years worth of extra learning can do for a child. If you refuse to read for yourself, do your kid a favor and buy them some books to fill their room.

viewed scientific research instead of outrage-baiting Facebook posts knows otherwise.

However, according to Steffen’s Republican colleague Sen. Mike Thompson while editing Kansas’ Emergency Management Act, we shouldn’t give deference to Big Government agencies like the CDC because its recommendations don’t fit in their definition of “accepted science.”

OK, sure.

Now, because social media platforms removed those same conspiratorial posts, Steffen proposed a bill prohibiting platforms from “(censoring) free speech.” This bill gained the support of a Kansas GOP official who attended the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot.

Collegian Staff Editor In Chief Sam Bailey Opinion page editor Aaron Strain Sports editors Adam Kolb, Bailey Pennycuff Online Edtior Kyran Crist

Editorial cartoonist E. G. Weinhoffer Staff members Danielle Gadberry, Brooke Greene, Leslie Grajeda, Joel Muhs, Sarah Newberry, Zariah Perilla-Best, Laci Sutton, Nick Williams Collegian Adviser Brad Hallier

www.HutchCollegian.com

The last argument many people have against reading is that it is simply too boring and there is nothing that interests them in a book.

To that argument I simply say, false.

There are up to one million books published in the United States alone every single year, and you say not one of them is interesting?

Many of your favorite movies and tv shows were books first. Think about “The Hunger Games”, “Harry Potter”, “The Wizard of Oz”, “Forrest Gump”, “The Lord of the Rings”, “The Silence of the Lambs”, and dozens more.

Don’t let society tell you reading isn’t cool or reading makes you weak.

The benefits of simply pulling out a book instead of your phone when you have nothing else to do can change your life for the better, trust me and try it sometime.

Sam Bailey is a Pilot Grove, Mo., sophomore studying journalism. She is the Collegian’s Editor In Chief and a pitcher for the Blue Dragons and an avid reader.

Because, of course it would.

Finally, in a recent Hutchinson News column titled “Strange times,” Steffen argued for the potentially unconstitutional ban on transgender people in sports.

Of all the problems facing Kansas - a systemically broken Department of Labor and slow return to the destructive Brownback-era economic policy- this is what Sen. Steffen chooses to spend his time on.

Strange times, indeed.

Aaron Strain is a Hutchinson student studying Journalism. He is the Collegian’s Opinion Page Editor

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)

Campus

The Hutchinson Collegian Friday, March 26, 2021

Golf team outdrives Mother Nature

By Joel Muhs Staff writer

The great outdoors plays host to many activities, and sports are near the top of the list. Sports like baseball, softball, soccer and football are all enjoyed in the fresh air. However, those sports are dampened - sometimes literally when Mother Nature decides to act up.

There is no other sport that is affected more by Mother Nature than golf.

Much like other outdoor sports, golf is something that can be taken inside if need be but can be challenging to do so.

Any type of weather can affect the game of golf and, being in Kansas, anything is expected. Wind, rain, snow, cold, and heat are all various weather climates that feel like can be experienced in Kansas within a matter of hours, but the Hutchinson Community College golf team is learning to adapt to the weather, especially over the last month.

“We are going to play in those situations, so we try to be outside as much as we can,” HutchCC golf coach Chris Young said, referring to the extreme cold and rainy days over the past month. “It’s kind of a mental toughness type thing and you can’t control the weather, so chances are you’re going to have to play in those types of conditions at some point in the year.”

Both Young and freshman Ben Partridge noted the usefulness of Prairie Dunes Country Club’s indoor facilities when the Blue Dragons can’t get onto the course.

“We have a facility at Prairie Dunes where we can hit golf balls inside. That allows us to keep swinging if we can’t go on the course,” Partridge said.

“We get to use the indoor facility out at Prairie Dunes and they got two simulators in there, which is a helpful deal,” Young said.

The relentless Kansas weather isn’t the only thing the golf team, ranked No. 2 in the NJCAA, has battled, as the Blue Dragons have also had their

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Puzzles

fair share of struggles with COVID-19 from last season to this one.

“In the tournaments we play, I feel that playing with the team in five balls has probably been the toughest part,” sophomore Charlie Crockett said when asked about the toughest part while dealing with COVID. “It’s something that we as a team are still learning to handle, and for me personally it’s a real test of patience, considering our rounds are now taking over five hours to play.”

For Partridge, it isn’t issues on the golf course but issues with availability to the HutchCC campus gym and weight room to help stay in shape during the season.

“The hardest part is that we can’t go to the gym at the college, as every other team in there can, as we’re a small team and we get looked over,” Partridge said. “Personally, I’ve had to get a membership off campus, which isn’t a problem, but it’s annoying we can’t use our own facilities.”

Even with all of the obstacles that both the weather and COVID have presented, the golf team has put together a historic season, which resulted in a No. 1 ranking at the end of the fall semester.

“First semester I was very pleased. We ended fall semester ranked No. 1 in the country and that was the first time that ever happened,” Young said. “This year I think we’re a good enough team that if we fall behind 10 to 12 shots going into the last round, we’re one of the teams in the nation that can shoot an 18 to 20 under round and comeback and win.”

COVID-19 and the weather have thrown everybody for a loop no matter what the circumstance may be. Those two things have toyed and messed with many routines, especially in recent memory. Even though the Blue Dragon golf team has found success in the midst of the storm, Crockett may have put it best. “We are at the mercy of Mother Nature,” Crockett said.

Student organization to host food drive

By Sam Bailey Collegian Editor

COVID-19 has affected billions of people worldwide and has forced many into new lifestyles and positions they never thought they’d be in.

While many people have been complaining over the past year about things like having to stay inside or wearing a mask, there are people living in poverty who may have had to struggle with much bigger issues like finding food or shelter to support themselves and their families.

One way people can help those in need is to donate food in their local food drives, like the one the Hutchinson Community College Honors Student Council is putting on April 5-9.

“Any community members and students who would like to donate can drop (food) off on campus, down stairs of the Parker Student Union,” said Karina Ayala Varela, Vice Chair of Community Service for Honors Student Council. “We will have a room where we will be collecting donations.”

The drive is specifically looking for non-perishable canned or packaged food items such as crackers, soup and peanut butter.

“The items will be donated to the Food Bank of Reno County (FBRC) and the Second Missionary Baptist Church,” Ayala Varela said.

This is not the first year the Honors

Roundup

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to give Hutch a 75-73 lead and forced Seward to call a timeout. Ishante Suttington was able to hit two free throws with five seconds left to make it a two-possession game, 77-73.

Seward County kept the

Student Council has hosted the food drive.

“The Honors Student Council has hosted the FBRC Drive ever since 2008,” said Honors Student Council Advisor and Honors Program Coordinator Ryan Diehl. “It brings together HutchCC as a way to help out the Hutchinson community.”

There will be a contest while this drive is going on to see which team on campus can earn more points by bringing in food needed for the drive.

The teams are made into categories based around student organizations, academic departments, and campus offices.

The scoring system is based on the demand of the products being brought in.

“This semester, we would like the teams to keep track of their points and report them after they donate the food,” Ayala Varela said. “This will help lessen the amount of contact with the food and donors and let us continue forth with the drive.”

While the contest can make the food drive light-hearted and fun, it is important to remember there is a bigger cause than just winning points for teams.

“This food drive is held to help out the families who struggle to have everyday meals,” Ayala Varela said. “Regardless of the situation these people may be in, they all deserve a meal.”

pressure on the Blue Dragons by nailing a 3 with 2.7 seconds to cut the lead within one.

Suttington was fouled and made one of two free throws to give the Blue Dragons a 78-76 comeback win.

Hutchinson finished with three players scoring in double digits. Kate Ogle scored a team-high 18 points, as well as

Books

• Continued from Page 1

Even other companies are fighting to compete with the big man Bezos, such as Hasting’s which struggled and closed all stores. For those from Hutchinson, they most likely will remember when Hasting’s, which was where the current Dollar Tree is on East 30th Ave, announced it was going out of business in mid 2016.

Even though most bookstores are struggling, some such as local store Bookends, locally owned by Gwen and Wes Bartlett. Gwen Bartlett told Hutchinson Collegian how she and her husband keep their business up and fighting against corporations and the ever changing book demand.

Q: What are your biggest struggles for competing with corporations such as Amazon?

A: Prices We primarily sell used books that are given by donation, so that helps keep decent prices. But with our newer and vintage books that seems to be our number one struggle.

Q: Do you find yourselves competing with places that may have cheaper prices?

A: When Hastings was in town and they had a book selection there was a

grabbing six rebounds, and two assists, blocks and steals each.

Lojong Gore was one rebound away from a double-double.

She finished with 16 points and nine boards, six of which were offensive rebounds.

Women’s track - Freshman Patrisha Doll’s collegiate outdoor debut was memorable on Saturday. The freshman qual-

bit of competition there, but no there aren’t really any places we compete with. When Bluebirds was in town we worked pretty well together, they had different clientele than we did. They had new books and just a different selection. And if they didn’t have a book they’d call and ask us and vice versa.

Even with Crow and Co it’s still that kind of relationship where our selections and everything is just different.

Q: How did you guys fair with the shutdowns at the beginning of Covid-19?

Did that hit your business hard?

A: Well we did have to shut down for those initial few months of quarantine like most businesses did. But it’s as though the quarantine drove more people to read, they had the time to so they read everything in their house and wanted more you know. So we had a rack set outside with a sign saying ‘please take one’, there was a donation box to the side where they could put a dollar or however much if they so choose and many did and many also didn’t which is okay that’s why it was an option. We just wanted to supply people and still be there for them.

We did receive a generous $500 check from a customer, telling us to keep doing what we do. We also had received funds from Rally Reno and the county, which helped. So we had our community behind us.

ified for the NJCAA Outdoor Championships in the javelin at the Pratt Beaver Invitational.

Doll earned a national-qualifying berth with a throw of 129 feet, 3 inches, which won the Beaver Classic title. She was one of 11 Blue Dragons who scored in events on Saturday.

Men’s track - Sophomore sprinter Jared Scott earned

national qualification, and the men’s track and field team competed in its first outdoor meet since 2019 on Saturday at the Pratt Beaver Invitational.

Scott earned a spot in the 2021 NJCAA Outdoor Championships with a second-place finish in the 100 meters. He was one of 11 Blue Dragons that helped amass 50 points.

Sports

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The Hutchinson Collegian Friday, March 26, 2021

Athlete of the week

Courtesy photo Blue Dragon basketball managers (from left) Ezekiel Peterson, Bryan Suarez and Addison Ehart watch a recent practice at the Sports Arena.

Managers play important role in Blue Dragon basketball

By Bailey Pennycuff Co-Sports Editor

The Hutchinson Community College men’s basketball team is equipped with an elaborate coaching staff, and a talented team.

However, the part of the team that goes unrecognized is the managers.

The superb managing staff is made up of three HutchCC sophomores: Ezekiel Peterson, Addison Ehart and Bryan Suarez.

Blue Dragon assistant coach Jay Cyriac works closely with the managers and has gotten to know them well.

“Ezekiel is probably the quietest of the group,” Cyriac said. “He’s a great student and always

Women’s team edges Seward

By Adam Kolb Co-Sports Editor

The Hutchinson Community College women’s basketball team earned a hard-fought victory Saturday at the Sports Arena with a 78-76 win over the Seward County Saints.

The Saints jumped out to a 21-9 lead with 3:41 left in the first quarter and finished the period with a 27-17 advantage. Seward kept up the strong play in the second quarter, only allowing nine points from the Blue Dragons and went into the break with a 37-26 lead.

Hutchinson played a much better third quarter.

The Blue Dragons outscored the Saints 23-15, and brought the Seward lead within one point with a minute left in the third.

Seward still led the game at the end of three quarters, 52-49.

The offense came alive in the fourth quarter for the Blue Dragons, outscoring the Saints 29-24 in the final quarter. A Kalyn Ervin 3-pointer gave the Blue Dragons a 3-point lead, 63-60. It was back and forth in the final minutes of the game. KK Adams stole the ball with less than two minutes left and scored to give the Blue Dragons a two-point advantage, but Seward quickly tied it back up.

Tor’e Alford hit a jump shot with 50.1 seconds See Roundup, Page 3

thinks ahead. Bryan is very friendly and played basketball at Buhler. He’s always available to help day or night and does it with a smile. Addison is probably the most talkative and friendly of the group. He’s always willing to do anything that is asked of him and isn’t afraid to work hard. He’s great with the players and is headed to the military after graduation.”

The managers have multiple tasks to complete every day in order to keep the whole team on track.

“Being a basketball manager is pretty fun,” Ehart said. “We have to have everything prepared for practice everyday.

For games, we fill up

water bottles and make sure all the players have their uniforms. On a daily basis, I make sure the ball rack, towels and hand sanitizer is always ready in the gym.”

In addition to their normal duties, if players decide to stay longer after practice to shoot, the managers stay and rebound. If the coaches need an extra person for a drill, a manager may pass or rebound for the team. The managers do the team’s laundry, including uniforms and practice gear. They also keep the score and run the clock throughout practice, and wipe sweat off the floor to keep the team safe.

During games, the managers are either filming the game, or they are on the bench supporting their team.

“There’s always a lot of little things that they help the coaching staff with daily. They are usually the first ones to arrive and the last to leave,” Cyriac said.

Although their responsibilities sound difficult, the managers find a way to have fun and look at the positives.

“It’s pretty cool being able to be a part of the team, and being able to help out. And, we also get nice gear, and our school is paid for,” Peterson said.

The relationships between the players and the

managers is significant, and will be memorable to everyone.

“If there is anything that I’d like the public to know is how hard they work,” Cyriac said. “The hours they put in. We couldn’t function without them.

Their work ethic and commitment is second to none. They all have great families at home and they are a true credit to their parents and the way they were raised. They work hard and often go unrecognized. They are willing to do whatever is needed and always with a smile.

Our managers are going to be hard to replace. I know from a personal standpoint that they have definitely made my job a ton easier.”

(March 14-20) Ishante Suttington, women’s basketball The week: Suttington had two good performances in two key Jayhawk Suttington West wins. First, she had 13 points, three rebounds and two assists in a comfortable 71-52 win against Northwest Kansas Tech. Then, she had 12 points, eight rebounds and four assists in a crucial 78-76 win over Seward County that kept the Blue Dragons atop the Jayhawk West.

The season: Suttington, a freshman from Kansas City, Kan., is averaging 9.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists for the Blue Dragons.

She has a season-high of 16 points, which she has achieved three times so far this season.