Cotrell, three Bearcats medal at SEMO meet

Dexter’s Blake Lee (left) and Jaxon King come home with top-10 finishes in the boys division at Thursday’s SEMO Conference cross country meet at Ozark Ridge Golf Course.

DAR/Mike Buhler

It was a great day to be a Jackson Indian at Thursday’s SEMO Conference cross country meet.

The Indians and Lady Indians easily claimed both team titles in the annual culmination to the regular season at Ozark Ridge Golf Course in Poplar Bluff — but it was a pair of Notre Dame runners who won individual titles to take momentum into the postseason.

Notre Dame’s Aidan Morris claimed the crown on the boys side with a time of 16:29 — 12 seconds ahead of runner-up Cameron Bell of Dexter — while Martina Ressel (19:17) edged out Jackson’s Annika Barks by four seconds on the girls side.

Three Bearcats earned medals on the boys side — Bell, Jaxon King (ninth, 17:23) and Blake Lee (10thh, 17:24) — helping Dexter place third with 66 points. Ben Dowdy finished 17th (18:27), while Daniel Williams placed 21st (19:28), Gabriel Proctor was 24th (19:50) and Peyton Ballance came home 29th (21:55).

The Poplar Bluff Lady Mules took third with 66 points, led by a 10th-place finish by Wren Cotrell (21:31), earning her an all-conference medal. Ava Stotts finished 12th (23:03), while Marley Spain placed 13th (23:14), Kate Scott took 15th (23:43) and Lynn Cotrell took home 16th (23:59). Gracie Brown finished 17th for the Lady Mules (24:08) and Keira Willis placed 22nd (26:11).

Poplar Bluff’s Wren Cotrell comes home 10th at Thursday’s SEMO Conference meet for the Lady Mules to earn medalist honors. (DAR/Mike Buhler)

On the boys side, the Mules finished fifth with 153 points, led by a 27th-place finish from David Kozlovsky (20:51), while David Garza was 30th (21:58), Logan Reeder came in 31st (22:05), Ryan Hopkins brought home 32nd (22:47), Aidan Hare finished 33rd (24:13) and Ethan Willis was 34th (24:55).

But it was Jackson which dominated the meet, winning the boys title with 25 points — 31 points ahead of Notre Dame — and running almost as dominant on the girls side with 27 points, 25 ahead of runner-up Notre Dame.

The Mules and Lady Mules are slated to run Saturday at the Hancock Invite at Jefferson Barracks, while Dexter is off until the Class 3 District 1 meet on Nov. 2 at Ironton.