Written by Chris O’Dell
The Harding cross-country program has been a staple for Harding sports in recent years. In fact, no other sports program at the school has had as much success as the cross-country team this decade.
The program, led by head coach Steve Guymon, has shown consistency and stability throughout the entire decade. Guymon, who is in his eighth year as head coach of both the Bison and Lady Bison teams, has earned 11 Gulf South Conference Coach of the Year honors.
The Bisons have won six of the last seven GSC championships and NCAA II South Region championships, including both titles last season. In the past seven seasons, the men’s team has finished in the top-10 nationally five times to date, with last year’s sixth place finish.
And had the Bisons not been forced to run through extreme weather conditions, the team most likely would have placed higher than sixth in last year’s meet.
“We got there, and there was several inches of snow on the ground,” Guymon said. “If we had been running on dry ground, we probably would have won the meet. We just weren’t prepared for those kind of conditions.”
The men’s team will be one of the favorites at this year’s national meet. The Bisons have several key runners returning for the 2009 campaign, including senior Frank Bolling and sophomore Daniel Kirwa. Kirwa, who is a national champion in track, has the potential to compete with any runner in the country.
“He’s probably one of the favorites to win the national championship,” Guymon said. “We’ve never had anyone win a national championship in cross-country. We’ve had people get second, but no one has ever won it, and he could definitely win it this year.”
Joining Kirwa will be several newcomers this season. Freshman Justin Kutter is one of the new runners Guymon is relying on to have a big season.
Justin is doing a tremendous job so far,” Guymon said. “He’s walking into a great program and has already been in our top five.”
Freshman Manase Busienei could also make significant contributions to the team soon. The native of Eldoret, Kenya, is recovering from an injury right now but is expected to be a big part of the program’s future.
The women’s team has also enjoyed a great deal of success this decade. The team has won five GSC championships in Guymon’s seven years at Harding. The Lady Bisons have also won two NCAA II South Region titles and have four top-10 national finishes.
With key returners like Katy Grant, Esther Kosgei and Rysper Sirma, the Lady Bison team boasts enough potential to have another very successful season.
“We have a really good women’s team this year,” Guymon said. “We just haven’t put it all together yet. Some girls have run well one meet, and other girls run well another meet. We just have to put it all together.”
Along with the team’s returning runners, Guymon said he expects freshman Naomi Landecker to have a good season.
“Naomi has really made a huge impact on the team already,” he said. “She just stepped right in and did what she needed to do.”
The Bison and Lady Bison programs will have one last meet before the GSC championships in Birmingham, Ala., on Oct. 24. Guymon said he wants to use the Bison Stampede meet on Oct. 10 in Searcy to get his teams prepared for the conference championships.
“The team is progressing real well,” Guymon said. “I’m really impressed with what I’ve seen so far.”
