The College of the Ozarks Track teams completed their regular season schedule Saturday, competing in the Pittsburg State University Invitational. This was the final tune-up for several athletes as they prepare to compete in the NCCAA National Championship meet May 11-13.

On the women’s side, the Lady Cats posted a solid weekend. Naomi Foskett turned in a sixth-place finish in the 800-meter run with a time of 3:03.19. In the women’s 1500, Janelle Staal finished ninth with a time of 5:12.94, Lauren Cowden finished 12th with a time of 5:29.00, and Naomi Foskett turned in a time of 6:13.33 for a 17th place finish.

On the men’s side, several athletes turned in personal bests including: Cody Damlo and Micah Bemenderfer in the 100-meter dash, and Matt Thomas, Micah Bemenderfer, and Demarcus Powell-Long in the Javelin. Cody Damlo turned in a time of 11.70 and Micah Bemnderfer recorded a time of 11’87 in the 100-meter dash to set their new personal bests. In the men’s 800-meter, Dillon Brisbin finished 17th with a time of 2:12.13 and teammates Janvier Irakoze (2:12.32) and Tucker Moss (2:24.25) finished in 19th and 23rd respectively. Janvier Irakoze also turned in a time of 4:27.11 and a ninth-place finish in the men’s 1500-meter run.  Matt Thomas finished in eighth place with a Javelin throw of 46.53m, while Micah Bemenderfer finished 13th with a throw of 31.60m, and Demarcus Powell-Long finished in 14th with a throw of 30.36m. All three were new personal bests in the Javelin. Matt Thomas also had solid sixth place finishes in both the shot Put and Discus. His throw in the Shot put reached 13.77m and his Discus throw landed at 46.29m.

The next meet for the Bobcats will be May 11-13 at the NCCAA National Championships in Greenville, Illinos. Matt Thomas will be defending his 2021 National Championship in the Discus during the meet. Janvier Irakoze, as well as the men’s 4x800m relay team will be competing for national championships in their respective events.