Cowley outdoor track and field teams place second in Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division
With the opportunity to host the NJCAA Region VI Outdoor Track and Field Championships Thursday through Saturday at the Mark A. Phillips’ Athletic Complex, the Cowley College men’s and women’s track and field teams placed second in the conference. The Lady Tigers finished fifth in the region, while the Tiger men placed sixth.
The Barton women and Hutchinson men took home region titles, while Coffeyville was the top finisher in the Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division.
We had a lot of great performances, personal bests, and a school record go down at the region meet," Cowley head coach Cameron Rieth said. "I appreciate the effort more than anything. We took our best shot, and even though we came up a little short on the team standings at this meet, I think we have a lot to be proud of this year."
The Lady Tigers were led by freshman Ka'Mauria Burnham, finishing as the conference and region champion in the pole vault by clearing 12 feet. Cowley had the top-three finishers in the women's pole vault as Aaliyah Treat and Ariana Gomez placed second and third, respectively.
Fellow Lady Tiger Zuzana Bokova broke the school record in the 400-meter hurdles (1:03.34), while Linda Filipova (5,000-meter run) and Cowley's 4x800-meter relay team of Filipova, Bokova, Marta Herrero-Lombardo, and Euvia Bennett were Jayhawk East champs.
"Zuzana had her eye on that record since the start of the track season," Rieth said. "She is our team's Swiss Army Knife and very talented across many areas. I am very happy for her."
The Tiger men were led by Cason Merritt, who won the men's pole vault with a mark of 14-5 ½.
Quintin Richardson was the conference champion in the high jump and placed second in the region.
The Tiger men also had two new national qualifiers, Michael Hesseltine in the hammer and Nash Young in the decathlon.
Rieth was glad to have had the chance to host the Region VI Championships in Arkansas City.
"Anytime there is an event that has the Cowley name on it, we want it to be the best that we can make it," Rieth said. "It was great to see all of the alumni, parents, and supporters of the program come out to support the event."
2026 KJCCC/Region 6 Women's Indoor Track and Field Postseason Awards
Women's Track Athlete of the Meet: Mildred Rono (Hutchinson)
Women's Field Athlete of the Meet: Xylavene Beale (Hutchinson)
Women's Top Point Scorer: Amanda Kotambe (Butler)
Women's Coach of the Year: Drew Mahin (Cloud County)
Women's Assistant Coach of the Year: Juliette Rios (Garden City)
2026 KJCCC/Region 6 Women's Outdoor Track and Field Postseason Awards
KJCCC Women's Head Coach of the Year: Drew Mahin (Cloud County)
KJCCC Women's Assistant Coach of the Year: Juliette Rios (Garden City)
Region 6 Women's Track Athlete of the Meet: Ra'Nayla Moten (Allen)
Region 6 Women's Field Athlete of the Meet: Natassia Burrell (Cloud County)
Region 6 Women's High Point Athlete of the Meet: Xylavene Beale (Hutchinson)
Cowley Region Results:
MEN
*Hammer – Joshua Patton, 171-3, fourth; Michael Hesseltine, 163-5, eighth.
*Discus – Michael Hesseltine, 112-8, 19th; Seth Sanchez, 112-4, 20th.
*Javelin – Nash Young, 133-2, 13th; Cason Merritt, 121-3, 14th.
*Shot put – Cooper Leonard, 50-4 ½, fifth; Joshua Patton, 46-0, eighth; Sanchez, 42-8, 17th.
*High jump – Quintin Richardson, 6-8 ¾, second; Long, 6-3 ½, 10th; Clayton Lopeman, 6-1 ½, 12th.
*100-meter dash – Azayah Skannal, 11.09, 19th.
*200-meter dash – Skannal, 22.18, 17th; Jacob McIver, 23.80, 31st.
*400-meter dash – Skannal, 49.37, 16th; McIver, 53.49, 27th.
*800-meter run – Herson Rodriguez, 2:06.71, 28th.
*1,500-meter run – Alexis Realland, 3:56.85, third; Rodriguez, 4:13.43, 12th; Eli Roberts, 4:22.45, 18th.
*3,000-meter steeplechase – Esteban Boisseau, 9:05.51, second; Wilson Navarratte, 10:35.57, eighth.
*5,000-meter run – Boisseau, 15:04.32, sixth; Samuel Lovell, 16:13.29, 11th; Eli Roberts, 16:59.08, 15th.
*10,000-meter run – Navarrate, 32:50.75, seventh; Samuel Lovell, 34:29.93, ninth.
*400-meter hurdles – Benjamin Long, 57.08, 14th.
*4x100-meter relay – Cowley (Long, Lopeman, McIver, Skannal), 43.75, eighth.
*4x400-meter relay – Cowley (Skannal, Rodriguez, Young, McIver), 3:25.96, ninth.
*4x800-meter relay – Cowley (Realland, Rodriguez, Roberts, Lovell), 8:05.96, 10th.
*Pole vault – Cason Merritt, 14-5 ½, region champion; Zach Sephen, 13-11 ¾, third; Brayden Sherwood, 12-6, fourth.
*Decathlon – Nash Young, 5,666 points, third; Caleb Jameson, 3,781 points, ninth.
Women
*Shot put – Katie Cook, 38-1 ½, eighth; Jessi McDowell, 37-10, ninth; Natalia Mason, 35-5, 10th.
*Discus – Katie Cook, 131-4, eighth; Jessi McDowell, 126-0, 10th; Mayce McDonald, 95-2, 16th.
*Hammer – Mayce McDonald, 142-3, seventh; Elyce Roglin, 141-8, ninth; Katie Cook, 135-6, 10th.
*Javelin – Paige Corter, 72-10, 10th; Jessi McDowell, 62-8, 11th; Roglin, 54-9, 13th.
*Long jump – Kennedy Khamvongsa, 17-10 ¼, sixth; Jadalynn Schnieders, 17-7, eighth.
*Triple jump – Schnieders, 37-3 ¼, third.
*Pole vault – Ke'Mauria Burnham, 12-0, region champion; Aaliyah Treat, 11-8, second; Ariana Gomez, 10-10 ¼, third.
*High jump – Naya Burleson, 5-2 ¼, fourth.
*200-meter dash – Grace Knight, 27.32, 22nd.
*400-meter dash – Knight, 1:02.41, 13th; Ariana Gomez, 1:08.16, 17th.
*800-meter run – Euvia Bennett, 2:16.77, sixth; Linda Filipova, 2:21.83, eighth.
*1,500-meter run – Filipova, 4:52.39, sixth; Bennett, 4:56.94, seventh; Marta Herrero-Lombardo, 5:10:45, ninth.
*5,000-meter run – Filipova, 19:21.77, fourth; Herrero-Lombardo, 20:45.08, 10th.
*100-meter hurdles – Aaliyah Treat, 15.19, fifth; Kennedy Khamvongsa, 15.73, ninth; Erika Wiese, 17.04, 11th.
*400-meter hurdles – Zuzana Bokova, 1:03.34, third, school record; Khamvongsa, 1:11.48, 11th.
*4x100-meter relay – Cowley (Treat, Schnieders, Burnham, Knight), 49.60, fifth.
*4x400-meter relay – Cowley (Knight, Bennett, Filipova, Bokova), 4:00.41, fifth.
*4x800-meter relay – Cowley (Bennett, Bokova, Filipova, Herrero-Lombardo), 9:32.14, second.
*Heptathlon – Wiese, 3,469 points, 10th; Bokova, 3,381 points, 12th.
