St Louis, MO – For the second meet in a row, the College of the Ozarks Lady Cat Cross Country team took the top spot on the podium. This time, they conquered the course at the St. Louis Cross Country Fall Classic.

Competing against nine other teams, the Lady Cats posted a time of 1:37:56 over the 5k course. When the race was complete, the Lady Cats had three runners in the top five and another in the top ten. Emily Staal once again led the charge, as she landed the top spot on the podium for the women. Her time of 18:31 was the best in the field and she continues to build for the post season. Keena Goze finished in third place with her time of 19:24 and teammate Rebecca Loya was right on her heals in fourth place with a time of 19:31. Trinity Sadosky continued her strong season and turned in a seventh-place finish with a time of 19:52. Sarah Alferink and Laren Cowden finished in 12th and 13th place respectively with times of 20:37 and 20:41. Naomi Foskett crossed the line with a time of 22:13, Gracie Vestal notched a time of 23:03, Jacqui O’Harver logged a time of 23:37 and Gracie Gatton finished the 5k race with a time of 24:47.

Tanner Bailey led the Bobcats to a third place team finish with his fourth-place time of 26:22 over the 8k course. Cole Chafin recorded a top 20 finish (14th place) with his time of 28:16. Drew Rose crossed the line with a time of 29:05, Caleb Fewin finished with a time of 29:47, and Eric Burns, Gabe Whitman, and Alex Frizzell finished back-to-back-to-back with times of 30:11.3, 30:11.7, and 30:12 respectively. Daniel Chupp had one runner separating him from his teammates, and he crossed the line at the 30:19 mark. Hunter McKinney finished the race with a time of 32:12.

The Bobcats and Lady Cats now set their sites on a Continental Conference Championship as they prepare for the meet in Lawrence, Kansas on Saturday, November 4. With NAIA Nationals qualification on the line, the teams will be working hard over the next two weeks to prepare.