238 1/ athletics ·nRECOR S at 2 Boutdoor national championship Completing their races at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Nationals in Edwardsville, lli., May 24, 2003, track team members ran away· with seven All-American honors. Under first-year coach Steve Guymon, the track team placed as one of the top eight NCAA Division II schools in the nation. The seven AU– American honors set a record for Harding since joining the NCAA in1997, Guymon said. On the men's side, the 1,600-meter relay team of senior Gary Luna, juniors Ryan Bond and Tyler Kemmerer, and sophomore James Mason placed fifth with a time of 3 minutes, 12.97 seconds. Junior Jacob Rotich placed fourth in the 10,000meter runwith a time of 29:49.54. For the Lady Bisons, junior Janet Kogo placed sixth in the S/OOO-meter run with a time of 17:03.66, despite falling down during the race. Senior Hanna Haavikko placed fifth in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:32.90. The 2003 track season brought 18 school records and 10 All-Americans. "I didn't know what to expect when coming into the season," Guymon said. "I didn't expect them to break 18 records, and I didn't expect to end up with 10 All-Americans. I took what was here when I came and did the best I could." Holding five school records, Kemmerer placed high expectations on himself at the national championship. "My goal was to get in the top eight [individually]," Kemmerer said. "] ended ninth by a few hundredths of a second. You are always wanting more when you are competing to get first." Although junior Scott Wietecha missed receiving an All-American honor in the steeple– chase competition, he learned strength in the process. "I was about to move into third place with only half a lap to go, but I died like a champ and finished ninth," Wietecha said. "The steeple is a guts race unlike any other, and next year I am going to train even harder." -Gary Luna
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