Written by Kate Kuwitzky
The Harding men’s and women’s cross-country team completed another outstanding season and looks to be able to continue their success in future seasons.
Coming into the season, on the heels of losing several seniors, the Bisons weren’t sure what to expect this year.
“The guys are a young team, fairly inexperienced. Coming off one of the best teams we’ve ever had, we didn’t know what to expect,” head coach Stephen Guymon said.
The team had big shoes to fill. Harding has finished nationally ranked in the top ten seven of the previous nine years. But the Bisons would prove they were up to the challenge. In 2009, the Bisons won the Gulf South Conference, the NCAA II South Region Championship and placed ninth at the NCAA Nationals.
“To perform the way we did, eight out of ten years in top ten, is a great accomplishment,” Guymon said.
Individually the Bisons also excelled. Sophomore Daniel Kirwa was the individual champion in the conference meet and the South Region meet. He also became only the third Harding runner to finish as high as second at the national meet, joining Jacob Rotich (2003) and Julius Kosgei (2006). He and sophomore Philip Biwott also both received All-American honors.
The women’s team also came into the season with high expectations, and they did not disappoint. The Lady Bisons brought home another Gulf South Conference championship with senior Katy Grant taking the individual title. They also placed second in the NCAA Division II South Regional and 19th at the NCAA Division II National Meet.
However, the women’s team also brought some much needed experience to the table that helped both the men’s and women’s teams succeed.
“The experience they provided was fantastic throughout the year,” Guymon said. “They performed very well at the conference championship and we did the best we could.”
That ability to come together as a team was almost as impressive as the success in the races themselves.
“I am most proud of the way both the women’s and men’s teams performed at the Gulf South Conference Championship,” senior Katy Grant said. “We grouped up and ran as a team for the majority of the race. We set high goals for ourselves going into the race and were able to take home both GSC Championship trophies.”
Coach Stephen Guymon, in his seventh year as coach at Harding, was equally as impressed and knows he has had the opportunity to coach a special group.
“I’m most proud of the kind of people they are,” Guymon said. “This group of people is a very classy group. They understand there’s a successful past, and they have to continue on. They just know they’re going to do it. I’m proud of how they step up when it’s time.”
As the teams look forward to next season, the future appears bright. The women will lose a few runners, including Katy Grant, but the men’s team will return with all members from this year and will look to add new recruits as well.
If the past is any indication, next year’s team is likely to step up and continue the tradition of success.
