Coach w ins award fou r consecutive years Junior Man (regger pushes onword at the Ted Lloyd Stampede 8K run Oct. 8. Harding hosted 45 runne rs at the Stampede. ·AmberBozargoni In the finol stretch, sophomore Jordan Conley runs in the Ted Lloyd Stampede at the intramural fields Oct. 8. Conley finished the 8K run in 28 minutes . ·AmberBozorgoni NCAA Division II cross country coaches lived in the shadow of Harding University's cross country Coach Steve Guymon, who won both the men's and women's Coach of the Year Award for his fourth consecu– tive year. Guymon, who had been the coach since 2002, was the fifth coach in Gulf South Conference history to win the awards four times. "Receiving this honor is such a humbling experience," Guymon said. "}can honesrly say that if! did not have such great athletes to work with, none ofthese honors would be reality. The teams are so wonderful, and I thank them for all the honors I receive on their behalf." Both the men's and women's Coach of the Year awards were determined by a voting of all the coaches involved in the NCAA Division II South Regional Champiopship. The awards had become a six-year tradi– tion for Harding cross country as former coach Bryan Phillips, associate professor of kinesiology, won the awards in 2000 and 200 1. Guymon was the third track and field and cross country coach at H arding, and he said that being one of the few to coach for the program was honorable. He said he often went to former coaches for advice and appreciated their support. "I look to the two previous coaches lTed Lloyd and Phillips] for guidance and questions," Guymon said. "[They] are still around the Searcy area, and it is so nice to be able to talk with them and gain knowledge from their experience." In addition to leading the Bisons to a sixth– place ranking in their division, the runners said that Guymon always made it a point to keep God in his winning pictute. "The best thing about Coach Guymon is that he focuses so much on our spiritual life," junior T.J . Davidson, men's cross country runner, said. "He strives every day to put a special emphasis on our prayer life and makes sure that we look to God for guidance." The 2005 Harding women's team was tanked ninth in their division going into the nationals and had accumulated thei r fourth GSC tide. The win ended a two-year championship run for Alabama-Huntsville. Junior Jessica Fisher said Guymon helped the team with more than just winning. "Coach pushes us to be the best ath– letes we can be," Fisher said. "While at the same time, caring for us as more than JUSt runnets." ·Breanna Wood and BarkleyTerry men's & women 's cross counlry '.#iI.
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