Bowers becomes Conant’s complete performer

Everyone wanted to know who the tall lanky kid with the wire-rimmed glasses was, the guy wearing a Conant jersey that looked three sizes too big.

Normally that wouldn’t spark much of a debate, as that type of description doesn’t bring fear to the hearts of opponents.

But when Ben Bowers took down a whole field of juniors and seniors at the 2010 Mid-Suburban League meet, he had everyone’s attention.

“Some of the kids that day didn’t see me as a large competitor that day,” Bowers said. “I was running right next to a senior and he was mad after the race, saying he got beat by some sophomore.”

That sophomore has turned into some kind of senior for the Cougars and their track program. Bowers has made two trips to the state meet in his three years on varsity and owns some of the fastest times ever in the conference in the 110 high hurdles and 300 intermediate hurdles.

“He just has that ability to be coached that you don’t always see in great athletes,” said Conant coach John Powers. “He is a delight to work with and responds so well to feedback — even though by the time we talk to him after a race he already knows most times what he did or didn’t do well.”

Bowers came to the United States and Hoffman Estates in 2000 from his native Thailand. He still visits the country every now and again.

“I still like to go back there because I have family there and I enjoy so much the culture and the food and the people,” Bowers said. “It is a part of me.”

What has also become a part of Bowers is the sport of track and field — particularly the hurdle events and the high jump. Bowers, who will attend Pennsylvania University in the fall, has seemingly mastered all three events.

“He really has developed an awareness of the bar in the high jump,” said former Cougar and current assistant coach Darren Niedermeyer. “His jumping ability has always been there. But in the hurdles like the high jump, he attacks each hurdle like he has learned to attack the bar in the high jump.”

Bowers is a student of the sport he has grown to love and he is always willing to learn from fellow athletes and teammates to coaches as well.

“One of the first guys that taught me when I was a freshman was Kyle Reid,” Bowers said. “He was a senior then and I always remember seeing how he approached his hurdle races, and how I wanted to strive to do what he was doing.”

The specialty of the still-growing Bowers (he’s 6-feet-2 and still on the way up), is his versatility. Bowers has shown the unique ability to leave a hurdles prelim, get in his high jumps, or in some cases long jumps, then return to the track for a race or two again. All without losing focus.

“He is always so even-keeled,” Powers said. “He is really tough to throw off his game. He just puts a moment, good or bad, behind himself and moves on to the next one.”

But when Bowers can’t shake the stress or needs a moment to himself, he occasionally will pick up a pencil or pen, find a pad of paper and draw. Much like running and jumping, art is another passion for him.

“Art has always been a big part of who I am,” Bowers said. “It’s great because you can create and it’s yours and no one else’s. It’s your own style, your own creation and no one else has that same style. It relaxes me, helps me focus.”

The 2011 season was one of great focus and great achievement for Bowers. He became the first athlete at Conant to win three medals in a state meet.

“Heading down there I was getting excited and I told my coaches that I was looking forward to the weekend because it was ‘The Ben Show,’ ” Powers said. “It was just incredible to watch a guy do all the things he did over those two days and come away with three medals like he did.”

With everything that Bowers has accomplished to this point, it’s hard to imagine what more he still has in front of him as the 2012 season gets started. But if he were to draw it up, the final sketch on Bowers’ career would go a little something like this — with Bowers personally drawing it up, of course.

“I want to not just place at the state meet but make a name for myself there,” Bowers said. “I want to win the championship in the 110 hurdles and medal, high medal, in the high jump and 300 hurdles.”

Now that would really be “The Ben Show.”