The cross-country competitive season is rapidly approaching as the Harding men and women prepare to take on the Memphis Tigers in the Brooks Twilight Classic on Sept. 1.
Last year, the men placed third out of 22 teams in the meet, and the women came in ninth out of 25 at the same competition. This year, the Harding women are placed at the top of the preseason polls as they are defending champions of the Great American Conference.
Returning to the Lady Bisons is the 2011 Freshman of the Year, Ewa Zaborowska.
The men’s polls concluded with Harding ranked second, a ranking helped by Lajos Farkas, the 2011 All-GAC First-Team and Freshman of the Year for the school.
In preparation for the upcoming season, athletes are averaging between 55 and 70 miles per week as part of their training.
Harding will participate in several other meets this season as well, including the Little Rock Invitational hosted by the University of Arkansas, the Sept. 1 University of Memphis meet, the Oklahoma State University Cowboy Jamboree, the Arkansas Tech University Dual Meet and the University of Arkansas Chili Pepper Festival.
While some runners are returning from last year, there are also several new members to both the men’s and women’s teams.
Senior Rachel Roberts, captain of the women’s team, said she is excited about the meets ahead and the team she is working with this year.
“I’m very excited about this season,” Roberts said. “We’re going to be a super young team, but we have a lot of talent, both returning and incoming.
Roberts said she thinks that the new members of the team will have a great impact on the season.
“The freshmen are already blending in perfectly, and I think we have the opportunity to go far if we continue to work hard and stay healthy,” Roberts said. “We’re just going to have fun while we run fast and see where it takes us!”
The men and women both practice as a team for about two and a half hours each day, in addition to running countless miles on their own.
Throughout the season, runners are competing and hoping to qualify for the National Championship.
Last year, Harding just missed the cut by three places, but this year senior Eric Wilson, the men’s captain, is sure that the teams will make it to the National Championship.
“This upcoming season is going to be one of the best Harding has had,” Wilson said. “I know we are going to make nationals without a doubt.”
Similar to the girls team, Wilson said he is excited about the new runners the team picked up.
“We have many returning runners and new talent as well,” Wilson said. “Starting cross -country, we are picking up from where we left off and incorporating the new talent into the team.”
