Last season the men’s and women’s cross-country teams both finished their seasons in the top 15 of the central regional competition. The men finished 14th as junior Lajos Farkas led the Bisons finishing 39th in regional competition. The Lady Bisons finished just outside of the top 10 at the regional competition, which kept them just short of reaching the national competition as a team. Junior Ewa Zaborowska did reach the national championships as an individual, as she finished 16th nationally last season.
Head coach Steve Guymon said he is preparing his team for their second season in what is considered one of the toughest regions in the country.
“This year’s team is more developed than last year’s team,” Guymon said. “We have a team that is larger than any team that I have had since I have been here. So I have goals for this group that are going to be much tougher and much steeper than last year.”
According to junior Dallis Bailey, Guymon is not the only person who is preparing to push this year’s team to thelimit. Bailey said she is using last season’s success to push even further this coming season.
“I definitely use it as a motivation,” Bailey said. “Nothing will be given to us and we have to work our hardest to prove that we can win. Every other runner in the conference is working hard every day, but we just have to work harder. When we want to give up, we just have to give more.”
According to Guymon, preparation for the different courses is what defines how the Harding teams train during both off-season and in-between races.
“As far as the courses themselves, I look and see how our conference course and region course are laid out,” Guymon said. “I find out before the year starts how difficult is this or that course. If it is a relatively flat course with not many hills then our training is going to be more geared toward that throughout the year.”
The team said they believe preparing on similar courses along with indoor training is a vital part of breeding success within the Harding program.
“To prepare to race on different courses we practice different courses,” Bailey said. “We do workouts on gravel, the track, pavement and grass. Something we incorporated this year is a circuit in the weight room which will be very beneficial, I think. It is a good way to keep our bodies tuned and puts us at a good fitness level.”
The cross-country teams run their first race on Sept. 14 in Pensacola, Fla.
