270 · Athletics Introduction The Year I.n Sports - sounds like a special edition of "Sports Illustrated", doesn't it? If one was to probe into this issue with diligence, he would see the highlights of the successful teams and individuals that captured the attention of the athletic world for that particular year. To compare Harding sports with the contents of this magazine, the sub· ject matter would be very similiar in regard to overall success in the various sports featured within the covers. Athletics was probably as much fun to produce for the sports staff of the Petit Jean as the editors had in producing that great edition of that great sports magazine. It's hard to write or think of ideas concerning losing teams or par· ticipants. That's why it was so easy and fun to put this section together. Disre· _ John Cherry garding the season record of a few of the Bison teams in 1981·82, every phase of the Harding athletic department saw sue· cess in one way or another. The year started in the spring, and what a spring it was! With conference championships in three different sports, the year began with a big bang. The thindads on the track and field team overcame a tough Ouachita Baptist University squad with great depth to earn the trophy. Golfers Brent Taylor , who went on to become AII·American, Hubie Smith and David Padgett jumped out to a quick lead and never relinquish· ed it to earn their first berth in the NAIA national championships. And the tennis team used strength from the number one to ,six positions to sweep the con· ference undefeated. Spring also presented the university with a new baseball field. Dedicated to Jerry Moore, a former all·conference player for the Bisons who was killed in a plane crash, the field is said to be one of the best in the state. The baseball team had an improved season in the same fashion that its facilities improved. Although a conference crown wasn't won, a group of young players looked forward to next season to produce their best. Although all the previously mention· ed sports were outstanding in reference to improvement for the Harding pro· gram, the one event in the spring that made the greatest mark has yet to be said. It was in the spring of 1981 that women's intercollegiate competition began at Harding. What began as an ex· periment turned into a great success as the Bisonette softball team posted one of the best records in the state among the colleges and universities sponsoring teams. Fall rolled around and the gridiron fever hit the campus. Jumping out to a quick 2·1 record in the first three weeks of the season, the Bison football team fell ~m hard times as close contests in the next eight weeks produced eight losses, thus ending the season with a 2-9 record. This didn't show the accomplishments that the team acquired throughout the season, however. Many records were broken and four outstanding players were awarded AII·AIC distinction. Cross country was the other fall sport on campus. A perennial winner for a decade, the men's team was joined by a women's team. Just as their male cohorts did in '81 and have for the past ten years, the women harriers took the District 17 title and placed tenth in the nation in their first year of competition. The men swept the conference crown be· hind a first place performance by senior Carter Lambert and did well in the na· tionals also. As fall changed to winter, so did the sports. Bison roundball was more exciting than ever as the basketball team continually won cliffhangers while fall· lng by small margins and finished the
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