Jentezen Smith, Sports Editor
The Bison cross-country programs competed at the Great American Conference championships on October 21, at Arkansas Tech in Russellville, Arkansas, as the men’s team finished runner-up and the women’s team secured fourth.
Maxamillian Wheeler led the men, running a time of 24:26.8 to earn sixth overall and his third consecutive first team All-GAC honor, according to obubison.com. Alongside Wheeler, teammate Emery Crayton also earned first team All-GAC honors after finishing 10th in 25:17.9, an effort that led to him being named GAC Newcomer of the Year.
Wheeler spoke on his performance at the GAC Championships. “I try to enter each race with the mindset that I belong there and am just as able to win as much as anyone, even if the stacked field is up against me,” Wheeler said. “Considering this, my individual performance wasn’t exactly what I wanted but I would still say it was a success considering how the East Central team is ranked ninth in the country and I was able to hang with their guys for over four miles of the five-mile race.”
Wheeler and Crayton’s stellar performances did not stand alone as Carson Kardokus and James Williams finished 14th and 15th, running 25.26.9 and 25:30.7, marks good enough to earn both men second team All-GAC certificates.
Other Bison competitors included Rogers Kiplagat coming in at 26.17.6 for 34th, followed by Ethan Banks in 37th and Peter Turner in 60th.
Wheeler shared his thoughts on the Bison finishing as the GAC runner-up. “The team’s overall performance was nearly just what we wanted it to be,” Wheeler said. “Our goal was to get second to place Harding in third, something OBU hasn’t accomplished in the previous three seasons. Again, considering ECU is nationally ranked, our guys did well at not backing down to that fight. I’m proud of this team in our efforts together in doing that. A statement we created and adopted, all in the goal of making it to nationals, is that a puzzle can only be built by
using the entirety of its pieces. We’ve done the little things so precisely that it has bled over into our day to day lives… what we eat, how much we sleep, the words we speak to each other, the thoughts we think, our spiritual growth, and the dedication to bettering one another as good men.”
Hard work and determination to reach their goals paid off as the men’s cross-country team collectively improved and accomplished their highest conference finish in years.
The women’s cross-country finished in fourth place at the GAC Championships, highlighted by the first-place performance of Sophia Strange, finishing in 17:33.79 to make her the top finisher for the second straight year. According to obubison.com, Strange also earned GAC Runner of the Year to become the back-to back award winner and the only Bison to achieve the feat.
Strange addressed her race as well as the teams. “I was happy with my performance and finish at our conference meet,” Strange said. “As a team it was a disappointing race because fourth was not our team goal. However, I am still proud of each of my teammates because they fought hard. They work hard every day; the conference meet did not now show that though.”
Mekenzie Connell joined Strange on the All-GAC first team, finishing eighth in 18:20.9, which earned her GAC freshman of the year. Olivia Lynch ran a time of 18:44.6 to earn All-GAC second team honors for the second consecutive season. Finishers behind her included Jade Robinson in 24th running a 18:52.2, Shayna Hendrix in 29th with a 19.03.6, Kaylen King in 35th running a 19:19.5 and Jadyn Pavlik in 37th with a 19:22.8.
Both programs now set their sights on November 4, where they will compete at the NCAA Regional Championship in Joplin, Missouri.
