A drizzle that turned into a heavy downpour didn’t stop athletes from the Crawford County Cougars Special Olympics team from competing on April 10 in the Missouri Regional Special Olympics at Waynesville High School. 

Justin Windle, Shaunna West and Zoey Shelton from Cuba, Autumn and Brandon Baltzell from Bourbon and Tyler Proctor from Steelville all competed in the event and were coached by Joseph Peart. 

Peart, a Missouri State Trooper and an assistant zone supervisor in Crawford County, started volunteering in 2010, handing out medals to participants in Waynesville. He said that he instantly was drawn to the cause. 

“When we started passing out metals, I got involved with the athletes, and it was just one of those things. I took right off and it dragged me by the heartstrings. I was sucked in from there,” Peart said. 

After helping out with the Crawford County Special Olympics athletes for a few years, Peart said that he was approached to coach the team. He didn’t hesitate, and has now been the head coach of the Crawford County Cougars for almost six years. 

In the Waynesville meet, the Cougars competed in the 50 and 100 meter dashes, shot put events, long jumps and other track and field events that resembled the feel of a usual track meet. Unlike most track meets, every athlete competed against just two others in their respective events and received medals for each contest they participated in. 

Peart helped guide athletes ages ranging from 11 to 50, plus navigate through a gauntlet of events starting at 10 a.m. before the meet was eventually halted due to the rain around noon. Despite the rain, Peart said he was pleased with how the event turned out. 

“It went great. We had the rain, but sometimes you got to battle the storms. The athletes still enjoyed themselves. You looked around, you still saw everybody with smiles on their faces,” Peart said. 

“All the athletes enjoyed it, even though they got wet, even though it rained on them, they still had a blast with it and gave it their all. And that’s what, that’s what I love about the athletes. Every time they come out and compete, they give it 100 percent.”

The Crawford County Cougars will compete next in the 2026 Special Olympics Missouri State Summer Games from May 29-31 at Truman State University in Kirksville, MO. You can find more information about the Special Olympics in Missouri and how you can contribute to the cause at somo.org