A new cross country shelter house is under construction at the Marshalltown Community College cross country course. The shelter will be dedicated to former Marshalltown High School cross country coach Tim Bell at 3:30 p.m. on September 7 prior to a high school cross country meet.
The new cross country shelter house which honors longtime Marshalltown High School athletic director and cross country coach Tim Bell will be dedicated at 3:30 p.m. on September 7 at the Marshalltown Community College cross country course. All are welcome to attend. The dedication will be held prior to the 44th annual Bobcat Cross Country Invitational, which starts at 4:30 p.m.
Tim Bell
Bell worked for Marshalltown Schools for 35 years before retiring in 2013. He spent 12 years as a junior high health teacher, nine years as high school assistant principal, and 14 years as athletic director.
He coached boys cross country for 32 years, as well as 9th grade boys basketball, high school girls track and junior high track. Bell coached 541 different cross country runners in his 32 years as coach, which is the longest tenure of any head coach of any sport in MHS history.
He is also a former MHS athlete and said he loved being a Bobcat in school and still considers himself a Bobcat.
“I had very special student athletes throughout the years,” Bell said. “My family is first and foremost, yet I still call all of my runners my boys.”
There will be a plaque at the shelter house when construction is complete signifying its dedication to Bell. Several people and companies donated to the project to make it a reality.
