CROSS COUNTRY
Harding men win GAC title
The Harding University men's team won its third Great American Conference title in program history Saturday, edging out Oklahoma Baptist and East Central (Okla.) in Searcy.
Harding's Dylan Douglas and Luke Walling were the top two finishers in the men's race, with Douglas beating Walling by eight-tenths of a second -- the second-narrowest finish ever -- to become the conference's first three-time individual champion. Jackson Pruim finished in fifth for the Bisons, while Dylan Mayberry was 10th.
Oklahoma Baptist's five runners all finished in the top 13 and East Central's Carson Sandvik and Drew Wiles took third and fourth place to lead the Tigers.
Ouachita Baptist University finished in fourth place, followed by Southern Arkansas University, Northwestern Oklahoma State, Southern Nazarene and the University of Arkansas-Monticello.
ATU women take second
The Arkansas Tech University women's team finished in second place Saturday at the Great American Conference Championship in Searcy.
Calli Beshore finished with a time of 18 minutes, 27.3 seconds and was the Golden Suns' top finisher in seventh place. Ashlynn Mays finished just behind Beshore in eighth place, while Karina Maravillas was 10th, Marcie Cudworth was 13th and Morganne Browning finished in 18th place.
Oklahoma Baptist won its fifth consecutive title, with all five runners finishing in the top 17. East Central (Okla.) finished third, followed by Harding and Southern Arkansas. Henderson State University finished 10th and Arkansas-Monticello rounded out the field.
WBC men finish 5th, women 7th
The Williams Baptist College men's and women's teams had strong showings at the St. Louis Fall Classic on Saturday.
The men's team finished in fifth place. Grant Thompson led the way for the Eagles with a time of personal-best time of 29:01, which was good for 21st place individually.
The women's team finished in seventh place. Emma Shaw's personal-best time of 21:23 put her in 24th place individually.
BOWLING
ASU women maintain lead
A perfect 5-0 day in traditional matches allowed the Arkansas State University women's team to maintain the top spot in pinfall after 10 matches of the Bearcat Hammer Open in Fairview Heights, Ill.
Arkansas State rolled 4,796 pins on Saturday and holds the over all lead with 9,620 pins. Nebraska (9,539 pins) is second, followed by Maryville and host McKendree. Vanessa Noftsier ranked fifth among all bowlers, knocking down 984 pins in the five matches. Sarah Sanes had the high game of the day for the Red Wolves, rolling a 243 in the final match of the day against Carthage.
ASU will face Nebraska today in a Baker best-of-seven series with the winner advancing to the championship match. The loser will face either Maryville or McKendree, with the winner of that match taking the other spot in the championship.
VOLLEYBALL
Arkansas falls in five sets
The University of Arkansas fell to defending national champion Kentucky in five sets on Saturday, losing 25-19, 21-25, 22-25, 25-16, 16-14 at Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, Ky.
Junior Jill Gillen led the Razorbacks (14-8, 5-4 SEC) with 19 kills and she matched a season high with four aces. Sophomore Taylor Head recorded her second double-double of the series with 16 kills and 18 digs.
Arkansas' next match is against Missouri at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Barnhill Arena in Fayetteville.
UALR rallies for victory
The University of Arkansas-Little Rock rallied from two sets down Saturday to claim a 3-2 (22-25, 22-25, 25-14, 25-21, 15-5) victory over Georgia State in Atlanta.
Nedima Kamberovic posted a career-high 19 kills for the Trojans (13-10, 4-7 Sun Belt Conference) and led all players with a .485 hitting percentage. Laura Jansen recorded her 29th career double-double, leading all players with 19 digs to go with 17 kills and a career-high 6 blocks. Georgia State (5-15, 2-8) was led by Julianna Truscott's 13 kills.
UALR returns home to face Louisiana-Monroe on Friday.
ASU swept at Georgia Southern
Arkansas State University was swept 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-22) by Georgia Southern on Saturday at Hanner Fieldhouse in Statesboro, Ga.
Macey Putt led all players with 12 kills, while Lauren Musante (12 assists, 13 digs) and Julianna Cramer (11 assists, 12 digs) recorded double-doubles for the Red Wolves (13-10, 4-7 Sun Belt Conference). Tatum Ticknor had 17 digs. Brianna Hollingshed and Elise Wilcox had four blocks apiece.
-- Democrat-Gazette Press Services