A unified team brings added success to the cross country Lady Bisons We live in a country that boasts unity in "one nation under God." We serve a Lord that says a house divided cannot stand. We see relationships that crumble because the two parties have quit walking in unison with each other. We see the need for unity between different ethnic and religious groups, especially when they forget that our common bond is Jesus. In almost every aspect ofour lives, we are affected by unity or the lack thereof. Generally, when teamwork is mentioned, however, people think of sports such as football, baseball, basketball, volleyball and softball. One sport that many do not focus on as a team sport is cross country. However, without the whole team striving for the best and working for each other, the prize will not be won. During a competition, five members of the team run. They run as a team and they win as a team. Individuals place separately from the team, but the team as a whole is ranked, according to sophomore Laura Rubio. This year's team competed in the Southwest Region instead of a conference. The region consisted of teams from Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi. This made competition tougher for the girls. Harding's women's cross-country team is a young team, with three freshmen and three sophomores. 'When we are in these big meets and we don't do so well, then it's nice to know thatwe are just freshmen and sophomores. We Women's Cross Country. First Row: Jessica Biggerstaff, Amber Howard, Jill Shirey. Second Row: Laura Rubio, Jenny Childress, Amanda Brigman. Photo by JeffMontgomery. know that we will improve, and we hope everybody stays," Rubio said. What this young team lacked in experience they made up for in teamwork. Coach Bryan Phillips said, "All the girls are close friends. They have good chemistry, and that makes for a good team." Hand in hand with team unity is team discipline. For most students, being in class at 8 a.m. is considered an early wakeup call. The women's cross country team is sometimes out at 5:30 a.m., either lifting weights or trying to shave off some of the 50 miles that they have to run in a week. Freshman Jenny Childress said, "The morning runs aren't too bad. It's hard to get up, but it certainly gets the day going." Phillips said, "The men's and women's cross country teams view themselves as one team instead of two. The women approach a meet differently than the men. Theywant to win just as badly, but they do not get as upset as the guys do when they do not win. I really want to work with the girls and get them to a point where they are more competitive." The women's cross country team placed fifth at regionals, having competedwith eleven schools. "Itwas a disappointment for the team. They didn't compete as well as they should have," Coach Phillips said. "Not making it to finals was discouraging for the team, but they had a good year overall." -Beth Smith
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