RACK UP HONORS Turkey. Macy' 5 Thanksgiving Day Parade. Cross country. Pumpkin pie. One of those didn't usually fit into a typical Harding students mold of Thanksgiving break. But for the Bison and Lady Bison cross country teams, cross country was a tradition for the gobble-gobble holiday. Once again, the teams packed up their nmning shoes and made their way to the NCAA Division IT Cross Country Championships in Evansville, lnd., Nov. 20. The men earned a fifth-place finish for their third top-five finish in the past four years. The women finished ninth. This was the second time in three years the women had a top-10 finish. Prior to nationals, the men finished first at both the Gulf South Conference meet Oct. 23 and the South Region meet Nov. 6. The women finished second in both races. The women fell short by one point to the University of Alabama-HWltsvilie for the closest GSC race in conference history. "We competed really well as a team. We just did not come out as strong as we had hoped," senior Helen Singoei, who finished third at the GSC meet with a time of 18 minutes and 10 seconds, said. "Each of us competed as hard as we could, and as a team we did very well. We will just have to try again next year and do the best we can." Freshman Kalina Szteyn finished first at the GSC meet with a time of 17:50. This earned her the GSC Freshman of the Year title. "Running is my talent:' Szteyn said. "We all have talents; 1'm just blessed that Ihave found mine." Singoei and Szetyn also earned All-America honors. Along with the women, the men's team boasted its fair share of running stars. Sophomore Peter Kosgei crossed the finish line first in four out of the seven races he ran this season. He finished first at the Memphis Twilight Sept. 11, the Ted Lloyd lnvitational Oct. 9, the GSC meet and the South Region meet. Kosgei earned a personal best and a school record at the Ted Lloyd lnvitational with a time of 23:50. He finished fourth at nationals. Senior Reed Fisher finished 20th at nationals. Fisher and Kosgei earned All-America Honors. -STAFF REPORTS 275 - CROSS COUNTRY
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