Bolivar, Mo. – The SBU men's and women's track and field team hosted their annual SBU Bearcat invitational today. 21 total schools made their way to Bolivar to participate in the meet. The Bearcat women finished 8^th with 43 points and the men finished 11^th with 21 total points.
 
The Bearcats kicked off the event honoring their six seniors. Those include Tessa Valdivia, Brocklyn Barber, Anna Bandy, Carter Adams, Colby Sanders, and Yoland Boyce. Each senior was recognized and met by head coach Corey McElhaney and Director of Athletics Clark Sheehy to honor their dedication to their program.
 
Valdivia was the first lady Bearcat to score points as she placed 3^rd in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 18:03.67. Not to long after Lainy Williams picked up right where she left off as she took 1^st in the 1,500-meter run, beating out the 2^nd place finisher by .14 seconds. Freshman Ellie Kitchin took 6^th place for the Bearcats in the 3,000-meter run. Williams and Alexis Barber ran strong in the 800-meter taking 2^nd and 3^rd place respectively.
 
On the men's side, Sanders had a big senior day performance taking 4^th place in the 5,000-meter run. His teammate Joe Kremp finished right behind him in 6^th place. Senior Adams added to the Bearcats points taking 5^th place in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Junior Troy Davidson had the best finish for the Bearcat men taking 2^nd in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:53.14, just shy of hitting a National mark.
 
The SBU track and field team will return to the track next weekend as they travel to Pittsburg, Kansas. They will compete in the David Suenram Gorilla Classic at Pitt St. on Saturday April 8^th.