Cross country season started this past weekend for the Bisons at the Brooks Memphis Twilight Classic meet in Memphis, Tennessee.<\/p>\n
Senior Lucas Goodspeed finished 10th overall and second in the Division II category. Harding\u2019s other top runners were senior Larry Lopez, finishing 18th, and sophomore Keneth Chelelgo, finishing 89th.<\/p>\n
The Lady Bisons won the Non-Division one title this weekend, and finished 7th overall. Harding\u2019s top three runners placed in the top 50 individually.<\/p>\n
This year the women\u2019s team is picked third in the Great American Conference (GAC) coaches poll, behind Oklahoma Baptist University (OBU) and East Central University (ECU). The men are picked second, behind East Central University (ECU). The<\/p>\n
Lady Bisons will have more work this season with Oklahoma Baptist being eligible to compete for the conference championship this year. ECU also will be a tough competitor as they are ranked second and beat Harding last year to win the conference championship.<\/p>\n
\u201cECU kind of surprised us on the women\u2019s side last year, we didn\u2019t have a good conference meet,\u201d head coach Steve Guymon said. \u201cAs far as them and Oklahoma Baptist goes, we\u2019re not going to back down and we\u2019ll give them a run for their money. I\u2019m not scared of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Lady Bisons have four veteran seniors and one non-conventional senior, Melita Sutherland, who was on last season\u2019s track team and played soccer at Harding for her previous years of eligibility. Even though Sutherland is a rookie on the cross country team, she has won multiple GAC, All-Central Region and All-American awards.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur goal is to win conference this year, and I think that is expected of us on some level from everyone; the team, the administrators and even alumni,\u201d Guymon said. \u201cThe women have more depth, better attitudes this year and more experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
Senior Kirstie Smith agrees. Smith said that if everyone puts in the work, they will get the redemption from last year\u2019s season.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a history of winning and last season didn\u2019t go the way we hoped, and I think we\u2019d like to redeem ourselves this season,\u201d Smith said. \u201cRankings don\u2019t determine anything because everyone starts at the same starting line. All that matters is what you do on that day.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the men\u2019s side, Guymon says there is not as much depth when compared to the women\u2019s team, but this is nothing to worry about.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn the guy\u2019s team, our top three guys are seniors and they each worked really hard over the summer; the senior leadership will determine their success,\u201d Guymon said. \u201cEvery team in the conference is getting better every year, but so are we.\u201d<\/p>\n
Goodspeed says his goal for the year is to win the team GAC championship. This has not been done in Harding\u2019s cross country history since 2013.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou really can become good just by putting in a lot of hard work. My freshman year, I was one of the slowest people here,\u201d Goodspeed said. \u201cThat\u2019s what you need to focus on\u00ad \u2014 having that commitment and mindset, then the results will come.\u201d<\/p>\n
The next meet for both the men\u2019s and women\u2019s teams is Sept. 16 at the Southern Stampede meet in Joplin, Missouri.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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