Jay Hurt takes long steady strides to keep his position. As with many sports, long hours of practice kept distance runners in top shape. The runners find themselves in a traffic jam at the beginning of the race. It took skill and a bit of luck to find an opening and break away from the pack. The Harding Bisons finished second at their 31st running, with two making All Conference/ All District: junior Damon Work and senior Nathan Mills. Work took third with a time of 26:23 for the five miles and Mills came in fourth with a time of 26:30. They both qualified for nationals , where Work finished 78th out of 349 runners. Due to illness , Mills was unable to compete on the national level. The Bison team was composed of three experienced runners and three freshmen. This season helped to prepare the freshmen for the hard work that lies ahead as their career progresses. The transition from high school to college required that the freshmen almost double their race distance. Building the endurance necessary to compete on the collegiate level was a year-long process. After the ASU Invitational, Coach Ted Lloyd commented, "A group racing 124 Athle tics strategy in the men's race may have cost us a chance to win the team championship, but it gave our three freshmen an opportunity to run with experienced teammates." At the University of Missouri-Rolla meet , the Bisons were led by junior Dave Hutson's 21st- place finish with a season best time of 26:20 over the five-mile course . The team placed seventh overall in the 14 -team meet. The Bisons won the Harding Invitational and had all six runners place in the top 10. As for the conference meet, freshmenjay Hurt and Jeremy Fortner placed just out of the top ten with 13th and 14th places, respectively, while Hutson finished 17th and freshman Mitch Seim, 21st. "I felt pleased with the effort the men gave all year. It was an enjoyble season," said Coach Lloyd. -- Vicki Jackson Jeremy Fortner feels the effects of the race. Many runners underwent physical strain at inopportune times during meets.
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