" When you are practicing an~ think you can't run the nine milel, you ~o it becaue it il for the team. " Atbtrt T abut SCOREBOARD Lone Star Meet ACU 253 Angelo 193 TarlelOn 52 UC Oklahoma 50 Harding 48 A & M Commerce A & M Kingsville 8 " The long runl are great becaule you have loti of time to ta(k about tife an~ retig,on. " TRACK: While most sports, including baseball and football , had limited practice schedules during the off-season, the men's track sq uad worked tireless ly throughou t the year. During the season, however, their training regimen increased dramaticall y. "These guys really work hard," Coach Bryan Phillips said. Anormal week's practice for the distance runners was 80 miles, while the fi e ld athletes spent most of their time in the weight room. Aday's work forthe sprinters often included running fu ll - speed 60-yard dashes until they dropped. Senior Tommy Noel said that he feels the workouts together made the team friendships stronger. "We were a real close team," Noel said . "The long runs are great because you have lots of time to talk with each other about life and rel igion ." The team made great strides in thei r first year of membership in the Lone Star Conference. Not only did they compete successTeamwork is the key to Bisons'great season fully at the conference level and finish in fifth place at the finals , but they also finished ninth at the national meet in their second year as members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II . Distance runners Jonah Tanui , Albert Tabut,Japheth Langat and Noel and field performer Bryan Rampey each fini shed the sea:' son with All-America ho nors. At the conference championships, Rampey, a senior from Broken Arrow, Okla., finished fourth in the shot pu t, heaving it 51 feet 11 inches. Even more impressive was hissecond place finish in the discus throw w ith a toss of 159 feet 1 inch. Rampey 's success at the championships was no fluke; he conSistently received high rankings during the season. At the Arkansas State UniverSity Classic, he made a strong showing with a third place finish in the shot-put and fo urth place in the discus. His first performance came at the Central Oklahoma Invitat ion al, where he achieved a first place sweep in the discus and the shot put. Tanui , Tabut, Langatand Noel placed second in the distance medley re lay at the Central Oklahoma Invitational. Each also posted strong individual times during the year. At the national meet, Tabut and Noel finished second and fourth respective ly in the 1500-merer run. Tanui also fini shed third in the 3000meter steepl echase at national s. Junior Albert Tabut said he bel ieved the team did well because rhey focused on teamwork. "It's good to run as a team, " Tabut said. "When you run by yourself you sometimes forget where you are, but when you run as a team, you put out the extra effort for othe rs. " The Bisons were limited by lack of participants, but Phillips said, "The athletes that we had did a great job. I was really pleased with Ollf success." - Je remy Schopper After banding over (be balon to Ashley Howard, Ericka HarriSslows down ber tempo. t be Lady Bisons worked bard on and off /he track during the season. Photo by Aaron Gillihan. Sports 213 @
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