Continuing a tradition that began with Cliff Clark and Jim Crawford, a duo that won four individual Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference cross country championships during the 1960s, Harding's cross country program has arguably achieved its greatest degree of success over the last decade.
From Harding's first cross country entry in the AIC in 1963 through the conference's demise in 1994, the Bisons won 29 AIC championships and placed as high as seventh at the national meet in 1965. But despite their success in conference action, the men's team had just two top-10 national finishes.
After a brief transition period, Harding moved to the NCAA Lone Star Conference in 1996 and on to the Gulf South Conference in 2000. With the step up in the level of competition came a step up in performance by the Harding men.
Since 2000 the numbers for the Harding men's cross country team are quite impressive:
58 All-GSC performers
46 NCAA All-South Region performers
21 All-America citations
10 GSC Individual Champions
9 GSC Team Championships
9 NCAA Division II Regional Championships
7 NCAA Division II Individual Regional Champions
7 NCAA Division II Top-10 Finishes
3 National Individual Runners-Up
In 2009, Harding, under the direction of seventh-year head coach Steve Guymon, closed out the decade with another outstanding season. The Bisons won the GSC Champion, the NCAA II South Region Championship and placed ninth at the NCAA Nationals. Sophomore Daniel Kirwa was the individual champion in the GSC and the South Region and joined Jacob Rotich (2003) and Julius Kosgei (2006) as the highest-placing finishers at the national meet with a second-place finish. He and fellow sophomore Philip Biwott both earned All-America honors.
The accomplishments of the women's cross country squad in the last decade are nearly as impressive. The Harding women won eight AIC championships from 1981 to 1994 and added a Lone Star Conference title in 1999, the Lady Bisons' last year in the conference.
Beginning in 2000, Harding put a stranglehold on the GSC championship, winning eight titles in the decade. Below are the Lady Bison accolades since 2000:
52 All-GSC performers
33 NCAA All-South Region performers
11 All-America citations
9 GSC Individual Champions
8 GSC Team Championships
4 NCAA Division II Top-10 Finishes
3 NCAA Division II Regional Championships
3 NCAA Division II Individual Regional Champions
In 2009, the Lady Bisons won another GSC championship with senior Katy Grant taking the individual title. Harding placed second in the NCAA Division II South Regional and 19th at the NCAA Division II National Meet.
