302 Cross· Talk About/ Cross Country Seniors Lead Harriers to Championship The outcome of the cross country season was a surprise to no one . With everyone ret urning from the 1979 squad wh ich tall ied onl y the second perfect score in AIC histo ry, the Bison harriers were expected to remain champions of the Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference meet and finish high in the NAJA meet in Salina, Kansas. Accompli shing both, the harriers picked up five of the top six positions in the conference meet and placed six members among the top len in the meet. Senior dominance was the key as a Quartet of veterans returned to lead their team. Seni ors Richard Teixeira, John Sills, John McAlister and Randy Jackson gave the Black and Gold harriers an array of experience. Backing them up were Junio r Carter Lambert and Sophomore Joe O'Conor. These six men fielded six of the top ten runner positions in the conference. All six figured one way or another in the outcome of each meet throughout the year. The season really never began conventionally as the runners had kept in shape through the summer. The official practice began with the fall semester, and the regular schedule took over. Thi s consisted of hours of vigorous running and workou ts. With these to back them up , the Black and Gold harriers ven tured to Arkadelphia to compete in the Ouachita Invitational meet. Thi s supplied the Bison with a warm-up for the eighteenth annual Bison Boosters Invitational, the fir st big meet of the season. Teixeira picked up second place, only a second behind winner Mike Vanetta of Southeast Missouri State. SEMO won the eleven team meet while the Bisons finished third behind Arkansas State University. After faring considerably well in the Notre Dame Invitat ional the harriers used the Arkansas Coll ege Invitational and the Southwest Mi ssouri Classic as confidence builders and competiti ve workouts as they geared fo r the AIC-District 17 Championsh ip. As in the past two years, Teixeira overwhelmed the field in capturing hi s third consecutive indi vidual championship. Although they failed to sweep the first six places as in 1979, they picked up nve of them with Lambert and Jackson taking second and third . ·respectively. Si lls placed fifth and McAlister sixth. O'Conor rounded out the pointwinners for the Bisons as he placed ninth. All six runners were again selected as All-AIC performers. Hoping to fare better than the six teeI1lh place finish in the '79 national meet, the Bisons entered the championshi p with a prayer. Lloyd commented on the '79 meet said, " Before we ever left for the meet , McAlister and Jackson were sick and taking antibiotics, and Carte r Lambert got knocked down last year and hurt hi s foot. You just don't expect that!" Teixeira ended his career at Harding by leading the Bisons to a tenth place finish in the national meet. He placed twenty-fifth fo r the second year in a row in individuals at the national meet, distinguishi ng himself as a two time All-American. _ Chrl~Mphr' Thompso"
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc5NA==