TRACK AND FIELD FINDS A NEW HOME B)' Du1ti11 Harding men's and women's Lrack changed conferences in spring 2016 by lcm·ing the Lone Lar onfcrence (LSC) to join Lhc GrcaL American Conference (GAC). SeniorJosh Syrotchen said Lhe change of conferences made Lrm·cling easier and took away the "jeLlag" feeling before track mccLs. Head coach tephen Guymon said he also liked the move because it made tra\·eling a lot easier. Guymon said they made 10- to 14-hour clri\·es to track meets in the LSC, but in the GAC it was better because only Lhree teams ho tee! the meets: Harding Cni\'Crsity, Solllhern Arkansas Univer iLy (SAUJand Oklahoma Baptist Cni\·ersity (OKBU). Along \\·ith the shorter clriYes, the switch allowed the track team to compete for the GAC trophy. "It's fun to hm·e track in the same conlcrencc as the other sports at Harding," Guymon said. "' Ve're competing for the same title as e\-eryone else [now]." Guymon said the competition was more difficult in some events, but stayed the same level of difficulty in others. He aclclccl that OKEL' \ \'aS their strongest competitor. '·Track and field is [OKBU's] elite spore,'· Guymon said. "They're as good as any team we fa eel in the [LSC]." Along with OKBU, Guymon . aid AU would a lso be talented in the years to come. chanderel ''Ct's going to be toug;h between the two of us [including OK.BU] and S.-\C,·' Guymon said. The player took the 1110 \T well because they liked being able to compete against familiar faces for the GAC trophy. HowcYer, Syrotchen had mixed emotions on joining the GAC. "It ,,·as bittersweet," Syrotchen said. '·I liked the [L C] better because there ,ras more competition, but as a team, [the GACJ giws us more confidence:· Syrotchen was the discus conference champion for three years two in the LSC and one in the GAC. He held the fourth best record in Division II history for the farthest discus throw, and he also made th rec appearances at Nationals. According to Guymon, the team's chemistry remained strong in the new conference. He aid he constamly saw his players moti\·ating one another, as did alumna Kelsey Taylor. "Some people were sad ha\·ing a change in conferences, but e\·eryone really worked together to go after making the most of it," Taylor aid. "[It] payed off and helped everyone positiYely feed off of each other\ excitement." In the first year or competing in the GAC, the Bisons were selected as preseason fa\'orite to win the conference and ended up making those predictions come true by taking home the GAC banner. The men\ track and.field team romJ;e/e in the 3000-mrter s/eeplechr1u at the Harding lm•itational held al the Ted Llo)'d Track 011 .IJ)li/ 2. '2016. Harding'., ,teeJ1IFChase J1rogra111 ll'aj ranked .1i,th in the nation during the 2016 outdoor season. I Photo b_r ka::.u Fuji,rnwa Srnior Jo.1h -~)'rotchen 10.1.w the disrn .1 at th e H arding Jnvitntional held al the Ted Lio_)'(} Track 011 , l jni/ 2. 2016. .s:2·r~trhenfi11ished the 20 I 6 outdoor season in second Ji/ace al the, \ "CAA meet on ,\lcq 2 7, 20 I 6. ll'il h a throw of 189 feel. I inch. I Photo b_v ha::.u hl)nawa Alumna Sarah Coleman takn a lwnd-off Jrum junior Raianne .\Jason al the Harding Invitational held at the Ted Llo_)'d Track 011 .I/nil 2, 2016. The Harding lntilational 1 •as a dual meet between Harding and Southern Arkansas U11i1·ersity. I Pholu by ha::_u Fujija1 ,a \IF.\ '\ \ \I I \H)\11 ".\'\ TH \Cl, ,-( ))J
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc5NA==