ADay Run uphill and through winding forest trails, run till you can't b r eathe, and then run some more. Run with the pack but stay at th e lead. Run until you see that finish line and cross it, exhausted. This was the fee lin g of a cross-country runner. Twelve of Harding's fast es t long di stan ce r unne rs exper ienced this feeling at every meet this fall , and th ey had the standings to prove it. Harding's cr oss countl1' team was ranked in the top 20 of the nalion this yea I', Though in t he past two years there have been no se niors, this year the team benefited from the contributions of both older run – n e rs as well as the younge}', "We have one freshman [Naomi Landecker] who's in the top seven," sen ior Stephan ie Frazier said . The team was under the leadership of Steve Cuy– mon , who had been coachi ng for eight years. Cuymon set his Sights first to win the conference and then to take the nat ional title. With runne rs like senior Frank BolSenior Stephanie Frazier Craig Rainbolt Sophomore Amy Roznos Craig Rainbolt 276 a thletics the Life of... ling, junior Daniel Ki rwa and sophomore Reese J ack– so n , h e had a team ready to contend for that goal. To prepare themselves for the challenge of each race. th e team had a d emand ing practice routine set in place throughout the season . "It va ries, but no rmally two or three times a week we' ll have a longer run day where we run for about 45 to 60 minutes," Frazier sai d. 'We do one hill workout a week wh e l' e we do sprint s... and we also do medicine ball two OJ' three times a wee k and weight lift. " With all the time that the team spent train ing to– gether, it was no wonder they were such a tight - knit group . The goa l of taking the team to the champion– ship h eld them together. "We all depended o n eaw other emotionally and spiritually, as well as to do our part for the team," Jackson sa id . " Its is an over all en couraging experience to be so d ose to people and to strive for excellence with them. " Both the me n's an d women 's teams proved tha t excellence wh en confe r en ce rolled around . The men won with Kirwa coming in first overall, and the women a lso took the confer en ce title with senior Katy Gran t securing firs t place overall. In addition, all seven of Harding's women varsity runners placed in the top 10 out of 14 teams present. "I was really impJ'essed and proud of how they did this year," Guymon said . The team continued to shine at the regional tour – nament when the men's team once again came in first and th e women finished second . Th is perfo rman ce qualified membe rs of both the men ' s and women's teams to comp ete at Nat ionals , which was h eld in Evan sviUe , Ind, on Nov, 21. "At t his point , since they've been training hard aU seaso n , they're sti ll doing a lot of mileage, but th ey' ll back off a little since phYSically they're ready to run ." Frazier sa id. Nick Smelser and Emily Hauptli Senior Frank Bolling leads the Bisons on a stampe..fie on October lOot the Bisons home Cross Country meet. The Bisons went away wi th with ~ first place team victory later that day. Craig Rainbolt
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