Familiarity, preparation, have put Dexter XC in position for success

The Dexter High School boy's cross country team trains for the final time at the school on Thursday in preparation for today's MSHSAA Class 3 State Finals in Columbia.

Tom Davis ~ Tdavis@semoball.com

The Dexter High School boy’s cross country squad won’t Google Maps today to find their way to the MSHSAA Class 3 State Finals at Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia. In each of the past five autumns, the Bearcats have had at least one runner compete in the ultimate meet, and the team has run as a group in each of the past three years.

“Some of these teams have been (at State) 20 or 30 years,” Dexter coach Josh Dowdy said. “We’re just glad to be in the same conversation with them.”

For Bearcat senior runner Cameron Bell and Ben Dowdy (Josh’s son), it will be trip number four to the competition, and both feel very well prepared after training hard since June.

“I think it goes back to June,” Bell said, “We’ve put in all the work. We’ve been here since June.

“We’ve been pounding miles as a team.”

Dexter is coming off its best team performance in program history a week ago, as it won the MSHSAA Class 3 District 1 Meet ahead of Notre Dame and Herculaneum. Each of the Bearcat runners had exemplary races.

“That just makes us feel awesome,” Ben Dowdy said of the team's success. “We really love to see that (individual) improvement. We love to watch the (younger) guys grow.”

The Dexter High School boy's cross country team poses prior to training for the final time at the school on Thursday in preparation for today's MSHSAA Class 3 State Finals in Columbia. (Tom Davis ~ Tdavis@semoball.com)

Bell is the top runner in program history, and Ben Dowdy has been a familiar face near the top of most races. However, the depth this season that juniors Jaxon King and Blake Lee, freshman Daniel Williams, and sophomores Gabriel Proctor and Peyton Ballance have provided has been crucial to the team’s success.

“They haven’t been here with us forever,” Ben Dowdy said, so we’re just trying to bring them along and, hopefully, be a mentor to them.”

Having the experience of Bell and Dowdy will be imperative today, as over 160 runners take off simultaneously for the 5K run.

“For guys like Cameron and I,” Ben Dowdy explained of his starting strategy, “we like to go out pretty hard. We don’t want to get boxed out, and that can happen if you go out too slow.”

The Bearcat runners have competed in this meet, as well as the Gans Creek Classic each season, so they know every inch of this course.

“That is a key factor,” Bell said. “Familiarity with this course is a very, very big thing to have.”

Bell said there is a hill toward the back of the course, which is secluded, so no fans are there to help get your adrenaline flowing.

“It’s back in the woods and you’re alone,” Bell said. “There is no one back there, so that is a very crucial part where you just have to put your head down and gut it out.”

Two seasons ago, Dexter finished fifth as a team while taking seventh last year.

“All seven of us have done great work,” Bell said. “Having a great family like we have, we’ve got a great bond. That, and having the miles that we put in together, those are the two main things that make us a great team.”

The boy’s race is at 11:15 a.m.