Dexter’s Ben Christian wins golf athlete of the year

The golf season might not have ended the way Ben Christian wanted it to, but in the end, he finished as one of the top golfers in Southeast Missouri.

At the 10th Annual Semoball Awards, Christian of Dexter High School was crowned the boy’s golf player of the year for the 2022-2023 season.

“It really feels great to receive this award,” Christian said. “Although I didn’t finish where I wanted to this year, it made all the work I put in this season worth it. The great thing is that I’m only a sophomore, so I have two more years to get where I want to be.”

Christian led the Dexter Bearcats this season and ended it on a high note as he finished eighth with scores of 80-74 at the Class 3 State Tournament.

Due to his solid performance throughout the season, Christian earned him all-state honors. In the district tournament, Christian shot a 77 to finish third, while the Bearcats finished second overall.

For a chance to make a huge impact on the Dexter golf team, Christian added some extra help on the course, which allowed him to make a strong shot at a state title.

“I switched to a new coach out of Paducah, Todd Trimble, and he really helped me out with my form and hitting,” Christian said. “As for coach (Eric) Sitze at Dexter, he's been a huge help throughout the season. He's super motivational, always pushing us to be better and brought me where I need to be, so I have to thank him for that.”

Sitze said Christian is a true competitor and showed a lot of maturity during the course of the season for the Bearcats.

“Ben had a great year for us,” Sitze said. “It took him a few weeks to get consistent, but he worked hard all season and peaked at the right time by having a great showing at the state tournament. He had a few bad breaks on a couple of good swings. It was a really tight golf course, but he held it together and put himself in position that first day. After the nerves went away, he really played well on the second day.”

Despite making it to the state tournament, Christian said he's more eager to return to work after the results from his sophomore season. Getting a spot in the state tournament isn’t enough. His goal is to be crowned state champion before his time as a Bearcat ends.

“Going as far as I did this season definitely felt good,” he said. “Though I did get pretty far this year, I know there are big things to come and more work I have to put in. Hopefully, we can do something special in these next two years.”