Experience Key in Bisons Victory For the Harding University Bisons cross country team, 1984 was just another ordinary (Le. - superlative) season. The team went undefeated against con - ference opponents in route to claiming the school's 14th consecutive Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference crown and grabbed another fist full of honors to go along with an already impressive , winning heritage . The list of accomplishments looked like this: The team. - once again qualified for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics' Cross Country Championships by taking first in the NAIA-District 17 meet held in conjunction with the AIC championships at Hendrix College in Conway, Nov. 2 (The Bisons went on to place 17th nationally at Kenosha , Wis., Nov. 17) ; - placed three runners - junior Al Bates, senior Larry Wayne , freshman Jon Partlow - on the All-AIC team and two (Bates and Wayne) on the All-District squad; - gave Coach Ted Lloyd another term as AIC Coach of the Year, as determined by the unanimous vote of his peers. While the season result was about the same as usual, the smooth path to the conference crown in 1984 was a marked contrast to the rocky road taken by the 1983 team. Indeed , in retrospect, 1983 seems an aberration when one notes the team then only won once, just enough to win Harding's 13th consecutive conference title. At the beginning of the year, we were extremely out of shape, but under the gUidance of Coach Lloyd we were at our peak when it counted. - Al Bates Still, the outlook for 1984 was optimistic as six of the -team's top seven finishers returned to the squad. "It's probably as experienced a group as we've ever had," Lloyd commented during pre-season. That experience proved indomitable , especially when coupled with the team's depth of talent and its ability to run as a group. Out Front. Jim Baird leads the runner from School of the Ozarks in the Bison Invitational Meet. - photo by Public Relations Office. 1984 Men's Cross country Team. Front row: Kamperschroer, Halbert , Bates, Pinson, Wayne , Baird. Back row: Tucker-trainer, Partlow, Flake, Neal, Lloyd-coach, Beach-trainer. - photo by Public Relations Office. 134 Men's Cross Country Bates wore the mantle of team leader he had earned over the previous two years. A junior from Nashville, Tenn., he led the team to Victory in the AIC with a thirdplace finish as well as being the top Harding finisher in all but a couple of meets throughout the year. From Fairhope, Ala., Wayne was the only returning senior and provided add itionalleadership as he overcame lower leg injuries which had hampered him some during 1983. He took fifth in the AIC , finishing just two seconds behind Bates on the eight-kilometer course. The next three Bison runners in the AIC finished in consecutive order from 10th through 12th place, effectively blocking out any other team's hopes of an upset victory . In respective order they were Jon Partlow of Portland, Ore., Eddie Neal of Griffithville, Ark. and Darryl Halbert of Lakewood , Colo. "Partlow ran the race of his life," commented Lloyd . The effort helped make up for the absence of Kevin Cantrell of Cocoa , Fla. , normally Harding's fourth orfifth runner, who missed the meet due to medical problems. "When I found out Kevin couldn't run I was kind of worried," Lloyd said. "But Jon ran the race of his life." A freshman, Partlow should have several more chances to run the race of his life . In 1985, once again , six out of seven of the Bisons' top runners will return to the team. With adequate recruiting, the 1986 team could be in similar shape. With conference championships a routine accomplishment for Harding, perhaps the stage is set for conquering the next, great challenge - a national championship. t;t~ Looking for the Tape. Darryl Halbert with Ed· die Neal close behind him giue it all they haue down the stretch. - photo by Public Relations Office .
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