Written by Carter Thweatt \/\/ Photo provided by the Great American Conference <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Harding men\u2019s cross-country team wrapped up a successful season last month with an appearance at the Division II Central Region Championships. Out of 28 teams at the event, Harding placed 11th \u2014\u00a0 their best finish since 2015. Junior Matt Ingalsbe said the team was very proud of where they ended up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt feels fantastic, honestly,\u201d Ingalsbe said. \u201cWe have a great team, and it is only going to get better over the next couple years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Harding cross-country could certainly improve on this result in the next couple of years, as four of their top five finishers were sophomores or freshmen. This included sophomore Luke Walling, who had the fastest time for a Harding runner at a regional race since 2008. He finished the 10k race in 30 minutes and 24.6 seconds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe cut more than a minute off his regional time last season and placed 28th,\u201d a Harding Sports article said about Walling. \u201cWalling\u2019s 28th-place finish was Harding\u2019s best since Lucas Goodspeed placed 12th in 2015.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Freshman Noah Haileab, who finished nine seconds behind Walling, echoed Ingalsbe\u2019s sentiment that the team\u2019s future is bright.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHarding is just getting started \u2014 they ain\u2019t ready for us,\u201d Haileab said. \u201cOther schools around the country look past us but once we hit our stride, they about to be scared.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As for this race though, Haileab wasn\u2019t sure he would be able to run, making his second-place finish among HU runners all the more unlikely.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI was very surprised with my performance at regionals due to the fact the week prior to the race I could barely walk,\u201d Haileab said. \u201cI developed a strained quad. Doubt and fear started entering my mind, but I started thinking happy thoughts. For example, whenever the pain started during the race, I started replaying the movie scene from Finding Nemo \u2014 \u2018just keep swimming\u2019 \u2014 but substituted it with running.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ingalsbe said the hard times during the race were nothing compared to the training during the season, but that was the point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt takes hundreds of miles,\u201d Ingalsbe said. \u201cSo many hours of training, whether that be running, lifting or even mental preparations go into a season like this. It really is not as simple as some would make you think.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All the hard work paid off as sophomore Zach Reed joined Haileab and Walling in finishing under 31 minutes. It was the first time in program history that Harding had three runners under 31 minutes in a regional race. Freshman Nate Perry and senior Jackson Pruim rounded out Harding\u2019s top five, giving them the 11th place finish.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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