!~eni 1;_ kansas Intercol1e g i ate Conference Championship 16 consecutive times, the men's cross country team again showed its supremacy in the conference. The Bisons did not dominate in every meet this season like they had in the past, but they were always contenders for the top positions in those meets. The team commanded the AIC/NAIA District 17 tournament by knocking off the University of Central Arkansas and Ouachita Baptist University. Junior Rich Lockhart captured the individual crown in the tournament with an 8-kilometer time of 24:42, and teammate Jon Murray finished a close second with a time of 24:50. Five Bisons finished in the top ten in the tournament, and that team effort bought them a ticket to the NAIA national meet in Kenosha , Wisconsin. The Bisons were ranked 15th in the nation as they went to the nationals, but the national acclaim was taken in stride because they had been in that position before. Senior Jon Partlow has helped lead the squad to nationals in each of his four years at . Harding·. He finished his career at Harding in style at the national meet, according to Head Coach Ted Lloyd. "Jon probably ran the best race of his career in the nationals," Lloyd remarked. "He has offered steady leadership for our team since he began the program." Partlow finished the 8-kilometer course 42nd among a large individual field of runners, and helped the Black and Gold to a 21st place finish in the nation. "Going to the nationals is always one of our goals for the season, and it's always exciting to compete on that level." commented Partlow. "I felt really good about winning the conference championship again. I am really thankful that God has given me the ability to run and be a part of such a tradition as the one that men's cross country teams in the past have accumulated . Coming into a season with only two seniors to lead the team and only three all-- conference runners helped to put us back on top once again. Many of the younger, less experienced runners contributed their best to make this a big step in achievement for themselves and for the team," continued Partlow. The cross country team also enjoyed winning their own tournament: the Bison Booster Invitational . - Greg Taylor Men's Cross Country. Front row: Fiscus - assistant coach, Koonce, Lockhart, VanMatre, Partlow, Murray, Prine, Lloyd - coach . Back row: Lavally, Halbert , Seay, Edwards, Guthrie, King - trainer. - photo by Ken Bissell . 1 g 2 Athletics Men 's Cross Country Men's Cross Countp,y 1987 AIC MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY TEAM POINTS Harding .... . . .... ... ..... . .31 University of Central Ark . .. . .. 56 Ouachita Bapt ist University . ... .58 Henderson State .. . ..... ... . . 102 Univ . of Ark. at Monticello ... 154 Arkansas College .. . . ..... ... 162 University of the Ozarks . ..... 165 Southern Ark. Universi ty ..... 233 "Just the best." Coach Ted Lloyd was voted AIC coach of the year for men's and women 's cross country. - photo by Bill Tripp.
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