64FALL ATHLETICS Business In The Front Party In The GAC Harding cross-country competes at home in the Great American Conference Championship. HARDING’S CROSS-COUNTRY PROGRAM hosted the Great American Conference (GAC) championship meet on its home turf Oct. 26, 2021, for the first time since 2011. The women’s team placed fourth out of eight teams. Junior Nieves Megias placed fourth individually, earning a spot on First Team All-Conference for the third consecutive year. The Bisons began running on the course in fall 2020. The team often practiced at the course in preparation for the GAC meet. Having the meet at home made a difference in the team’s attitude before and during the race. “It was awesome because I had all my teammates and friends there,” Megias said. “Every time I turned a corner, I heard my name and saw a familiar face.” Megias, who finished the 5,000-meter race with a time of 18 minutes, 6 seconds, said that aside from the meet being at home, the course itself was perfect for racing. “I love this course,” Megias said. “It’s real cross-country. I think it’s the best one in our conference.” Megias said the team had faced quite a few obstacles at the beginning of the season, so it meant a lot to them to race at the same place they trained for several months. Senior Molly Passmore, who placed third for the team and 15th overall with a time of 18 minutes, 53 seconds, thought the team definitely had the home field advantage. Knowing where the biggest hills and longest stretches were helped with her racing strategy, and constant encouragement from friends kept her motivated. “This is our home course; we run this all the time,” Passmore said. “We know how to run it. We know the strategies so much better than the other teams, so knowing the course and having all those people at every single corner and every single stretch cheering for Harding really helped a lot.” Assistant cross-country and track coach Victoria Hindman, who was also a cross-country runner for Harding from 201418, was glad the team hosted a conference meet, even though she never had that opportunity when she competed. Having the entire track team come to the meet and support the distance runners was something special. “I never got to run at home for cross-country when I was running, so this is a whole new feeling for it,” Hindman said. “Conference is already exciting, but getting to do it at your home course is even better. Even getting to see some girls that I ran with come out and watch is really special.” WRITTEN BY CHRISTIANE DAVIS
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