The men’s and women’s cross-country teams welcomed the start to the season with impressive finishes in the Brooks Memphis Twilight Cross-Country Classic on Sept. 5. The men’s team placed fifth overall while the women’s team placed fourth overall. Both teams finished first among non-Division I teams.

According to head coach Steve Guymon, a short practice period before the first meet had both teams feeling uncertain about their fitness levels heading into the first race. Strong finishes for both teams, however, affirmed their hopes for a successful season.

“This meet was basically a check to see what kind of fitness we’re in,” Guymon said. “It was a good start, and I was happy with the way they performed and competed. We have a couple of weeks before we have another meet, so we’re going to try to figure out what we have to work on next.”

The men’s focus this season is to run as a pack, Guymon said. Several runners are competing for the top spots, and running together will encourage them to push each other.

“Running as a pack is more of a mental advantage than anything else,” junior Lucas Goodspeed, who finished first among Harding runners, said. “The more relaxed and familiar you can feel during a race, the better off you’re going to be. There’s that familiarity of training with a certain group of people every day that makes you know that you’re as good as the people around you.”

The women face a similar story as they seek to stay on pace with the team’s top runner, senior Ewa Zaborowska. Zaborowska finds herself coming off an injury that led to her redshirting last year’s season. This season, however, Zaborowska is healthy, and her teammates are looking to her to set the tone for the season.

“When you see one person go out like Ewa, it trickles down and everyone is pushing,” senior Kelsey Taylor said. “Sometimes you’re going to have that part in the race when you get really tired and you want to stop, but seeing your teammate pushes you to go further.”

With Zaborowska back, Guymon and Taylor have high hopes for the women’s team. They will look to build on a team that enters the season as reigning conference champions.

“I know our goal is to get to nationals,” Taylor said. “I’m excited to see how everyone is going to perform because I know a lot of the younger girls are maturing, and then the new ones coming in are seeing that in the leaders and they’re excited to get out there too. It’s going to be a good senior year.”