Bearcat senior, teammates burst through field en route to strong performance

Dexter High School senior cross country runner Cameron Bell poses with his medal after winning the Gans Creek Classic Meet recently in a Bearcat record time.

photo provided

Whether individually or as a team, the Dexter High School boy’s cross country squad is running hard toward the end of this season.

The Bearcats put forth an exemplary performance in finishing 12th out of 26 teams in the recent Gans Creek Classic near Columbia.

Today was a great day for our team,” Bearcat coach Josh Dowdy said in a release. “After two of our best weeks of training, it’s rewarding to see the hard work continue to pay off.”

Bearcat senior Cameron Bell, who holds the program record, broke his mark with a time of 16:05 to earn medalist honors in the Gold Division, which was a major step up in competition for the Dexter athletes.

“Cameron is a relentless hard worker,” Dowdy said. “With his drive, he’s not far from breaking the 16-minute mark. It was just an awesome performance.”

The Bearcats are light years ahead of where they were in the past.

Dowdy said two seasons ago, the Bearcat school record was 17:30, and as a squad, his team this fall has averaged 17:21.

“Over the last two years,” Dowdy explained, “we've competed in the White Division. Being bumped up two divisions to the Gold says a lot about what these boys have achieved.”

Dexter senior Ben Dowdy took 38th place in a time of 16:46 while junior Blake Lee finished 75th in a time of 17:30.

To put Lee’s performance in perspective, at this same meet and course one year ago, Lee ran a 20:37.

“To be able to improve by over three minutes in one year is incredible,” Dowdy said.

Jaxon King placed 107th in a time of 17:56 while Daniel Williams (135th, 18:28), Gabriel Procter (180th, 20:05), and Peyton Ballance (188th, 21:36) also fared well.

The Bearcat runners will compete in the Stoddard County Athletic Association Meet on Saturday at 9 a.m. in Bloomfield.