Hutchinson High School alumnus Nate Dreiling, the former interim head coach at Utah State University and New Mexico State University who briefly served as defensive coordinator at Arkansas State University, recently was named defensive coordinator at the University of Oklahoma. (Utah State University file photo).
By John Mesh
Nate Dreiling wasn’t defensive coordinator at Arkansas State for very long.
Dreiling, a former Hutchinson High School Salthawk all-state football player named the linebackers coach at the University of Oklahoma, per multiple reports on Saturday.
Nate Dreiling is the son of legendary former Hutchinson Salthawk Randy Dreiling, who won seven state titles in Hutchinson and three more at St. Thomas Aquinas in Overland Park.
ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported that Dreiling has informed Arkansas State that he has accepted the University of Oklahoma linebackers job. He was named to the Arkansas State post on Jan. 3 after accepting the job in December.
Dreiling was the interim head coach at Utah State last year and also has served as defensive coordinator at New Mexico State University.
Dreiling joins former Salina South all-state selection and current head coach Brent Venables on the Oklahoma coaching staff. Venables is a former assistant coach at Kansas State University and Clemson University.
Dreiling was a four-time state champion and two-time first-team all-state pick. He broke the school’s single-season tackle record as a senior. Dreiling capped off his high school career in the summer of 2009, as a participant in the Kansas Shrine Bowl game.
After his time as a Salthawk, Dreiling took his talents to southeast Kansas and was a four-time NCAA Division II All-America selection at Pittsburg State.
He became just the third player in school history to earn All-America honors all four seasons as a Gorilla.
Dreiling was tabbed as the MIAA Defensive Player of the Year in 2011 and also earned the NCAA Division II Defensive Player of the Year award after making 139 tackles with 17.0 tackles-for-loss, seven interceptions and six pass breakups.
Dreiling earned the NCAA Division II Freshman of the Year award in 2010 when he led the country with 160 tackles and 20.5 tackles-for-loss.
Dreiling set Pitt State and MIAA records for career tackles (491) and helped lead the Gorillas to the 2011 NCAA Division II National Championship.
Oklahoma also named Wes Goodwin as the assistant linebackers coach/outside linebackers coach and defensive analyst.
Goodwin served numerous defensive coaching roles for 13 of the last 16 seasons at Clemson, including defensive coordinator since 2022. He served with Venables at Clemson when Venables was defensive coordinator.
The Sooners also named Ben Arbuckle as the offensive coordinator.
Arbuckle is former player who is the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of Oklahoma.
He previously served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Washington State University from 2023 to 2024.
Arbuckle played quarterback ar West Texas A&M University in 2016 and 2017. He previously coached at Houston Baptist, Seminole (Texas) High School and Western Kentucky.
In 2025, Oklahoma will compete for the second year in the Southeastern Conference after being a longtime member of the Big 12 Conference (formerly Big Six, Big Seven and Big Eight).
The Sooners posted a 6-7 record in 2024 (tied for 13th in SEC with a 2-6 league mark). The Sooners lost to Navy 21-20 in the Armed Forces Bowl on Dec. 27.
HutchCC’s Avila, Picolet punch tickets to nationals
Sophomore distance runners Laura Avila and Jordyn Picolet became the latest NJCAA national indoor qualifiers for the Hutchinson Community College women’s track and field team on Saturday at the Washburn Open.
Avila posted the second-fastest indoor 5,000-meter time in Blue Dragon history on Saturday, finishing 28th at Washburn in a national-qualifying time of 18:35.89.
Picolet placed 30th in the 5,000 meters with a time personal-best time of 18:44.70, which ranked No. 4 in Blue Dragon women’s indoor track history.
Avila and Picolet now join pole vaulter Alycea McCoy and shot putters Deishaline Mayer Scott and Janiel Montaque as Blue Dragon qualifiers for the 2025 NJCAA Indoor Championships in March in Lubbock, Texas.
The Blue Dragons were split between the Washburn Open and the Coach Wilson Invitational at Wichita State University on Saturday.
At the Heskett Center in Wichita, Montaque won the shot put to lead a Blue Dragon 1-3-7 finish in the event. Montaque posted a PR in the event with a distance of 42-10 1/4 (11.01 meters), which ranks eighth-best in Blue Dragon indoor history.
Scott placed third with a distance of 42-5 (12.93 meters) and Aiyanna Green had a PR with a seventh-place effort of 41-1 (12.52 meters)
Sophomore Kemisha Dominique placed third in the 200 meters with a time of 27.08.
Freshman Azariah Dawes inched closer to qualifying in the triple jump. Dawes finished sixth at Wichita with a Blue Dragon all-time indoor fifth-best jump of 36-1 1/2 (11.01 meters).
The Blue Dragons are scheduled to be off next weekend and will next compete at the Ichabod Invitational on Feb. 14-15 in Topeka.
Wichita State University Coach Herm Wilson Track Invitational
Thursday, Jan. 30-Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025
Hutchinson Community College women’s results
200: 3.Kemisha Williams 27.08 seconds. 9.Taniyah Cox 27.84 seconds.
400: 13.Sierra Brooks 1 minute, 4.81 seconds.
Shot put: 1.Janiel Montaque 13.05 seconds, 3.Deisheline Mayer Scott 12.53 seconds, 7.Aiyanna Green 12.52 seconds.
Pole vault: 13.Alycea McCoy 2.92 meters.
Long jump: 2.Azariah Dawes 5.36 meters, 5.Yaya Moreno 5.10 meters.
Triple jump: 6.Azariah Dawes 11.01 meters.
Weight throw: 5.Aiyanna Green 14.72 meters, 8.Janiel Montaque 14.12 meters, 9.Deisheline Mayer Scott 13.94 meters.
Washburn Open Track Meet
Friday, Jan. 31-Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025
Hutchinson Community College women’s results
5,000: 28.Laura Avila 18:35.89, 30.Jordyn Picolet 18:44.7.
Mangelson leads re-write of Blue Dragon record book
Sophomore Farrin Mangelson shattered the Hutchinson Community College men’s track and field indoor 5,000-meter record on Friday at the Washburn Open in Topeka.
Mangelson and three other Blue Dragon distance runners posted 4 of the top 6 indoor 5,000-meter times in program history.
Mangelson finished seventh at the Washburn Open with a school-record and NJCAA-qualifying time of 14:35.35. That time is the sixth-fastest time in the NJCAA this season.
Mangelson smashed the old record of Tegan Flanagan by 13.33 seconds. Flanagan ran a time of 14:48.68 at the 2021 NJCAA Indoor Championships in Pittsburg.
Also beating Flanagan’s old record was sophomore Titus Kiprotich, who qualified for the 2025 indoor national championships in March with the second-fastest time in Blue Dragon history of 14:37.76. Kiprotich’s time is seventh in the NJCAA this season.
Freshman Cornelius Kogo was the third Blue Dragon to qualify in the 5,000 meters on Friday, posting a time of 14:49.92, which is the fourth-fastest Blue Dragon 5,000-meter time and 12th fastest in the NJCAA This season.
Freshman Thaddaeus Rotich ran the sixth-fastest Blue Dragon 5,000-meter time, placing 23rd on Friday with a time of 15:05.73.
The Blue Dragons had one other national qualifier on Friday. Freshman Kebba Makalo qualified for nationals in the 60 meters with a time of 6.82 seconds. Makalo just missed qualifying in the 200 meters by .04 seconds with a time of 21.64 seconds.
D’Antonio Warren just missed qualifying in the 200 by .18 seconds with a time of 21.78 seconds.
Part of the Blue Dragons competed at the Coach Wilson Invitational at Wichita State on Friday.
Taylor Zehr was the top finisher for the Dragons in Wichita, placing seventh in the weight throw with a top distance of 46-4 (14.12).
Wichita State University Coach Herm Wilson Track Invitational
Thursday, Jan. 30-Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025
Hutchinson Community College men’s results
200: 6.Giavonni Jones 23.01 seconds.
600: 7.Lushane Blake 1 minute, 28.68 seconds.
1-mile: 28.Blake Yoder 4 minutes, 57.91 seconds.
Shot put: 12.Andrew Hildebrand 13.95 meters, 14.Karson Engelland 13.36 meters, 16.Garady Bare 12.90 meters.
Pole vault: 7.Gregery Martinez 4.22 meters.
Long jump: 12.Malique Parkinson 6.42 meters, 17.Jaydon Parkes 6.03 meters, 20.Richard Collins 5.88 meters.
Triple jump: 1.Malique Parkinson 14.08 meters.
Weight throw: 7.Taylor Zehr 14.12 meters, 14.Anthony Hildebrand 12.65 meters, 15.Grady Bare 12.18 meters.
Washburn Open Track Meet
Friday, Jan. 31-Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025
Hutchinson Community College men’s results
200: 13.Kebba Makalo 21.64 seconds, 17.D’Antonio Warren 21.78, 69.Rickyle Telemaque 22.69.
400: 1.David Thid 47.16, 8.Da’Shawn Lester 48.72.
800: 8.Leo LeGrand 1:53.06.
1-mile: 33.Leo LeGrand 4:17.75.
5,000: 7.Farrin Mangelson 14:35, 8.Titus Kiprotich 14:37.76, 17.Cornelius Kogo 14:49.92. 23.Thaddeus Rotich 15:05.73.
4×400 relay: 4.Hutchinson (D. Lester, Ricky Telemaque, D. Warren, David Thid) 3:14.89.
Hutchinson High School Salthawk basketball teams host Pack the SAC Night’ Friday night
Friday night is “Pack the SAC Night” at the Salthawk Activity Center when the Hutchinson Salthawk girls and boys basketball team host Salina South.
The freshman girls basketball game tips off at 4:15 p.m. at the JV gym and the freshman boys game starts at 4:15 p.m. at the SAC.
The junior varsity game will start at 5:45 p.m. at the JV Gym and the varsity girls game is at 6 p.m. at the SAC.
The JV girls game starts at 7:30 p.m. at the JB Gym and the varsity boys game starts at 7:30 p.m. at the SAC.
There will be a food drive to raise 1,000 pounds of food for the food pantry.
The halftime entertainment will be the ICT Aerobelles Granny Basketball Team (featuring women from the ages of 50 to 92).
There will be a competition between the USD 308 grade schools.
Hutchinson-Nickerson wrestling dual moved to Feb. 11
Because of sickness on the Hutchinson High School wrestling team, the Hutchinson vs. Nickerson dual originally scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 4, has been postponed to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 11, at the Hutchinson High School North Gym.