FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Harding men's cross country had its fourth different team member lead the squad, and the Bisons placed ninth of 27 teams Saturday in the college division race at the Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival.

Senior Lajos Farkas led the Bisons for the first time in his 19 career races. A native of Ludus, Romania, Farkas placed 41st in the 8K race in 26 minutes, 11.3 seconds.

Harding, who entered the race ranked No. 6 in the NCAA Division II Central Region, finished with 260 points. The Bisons were fifth among the eight Central Region teams in the race.

Oklahoma City, an NAIA program, won the meet with 61 points, 10 points ahead of second-place Sioux Falls of the NCAA Division II Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.

Eric Schott, a senior from Missouri Southern, was the top non-Division I finisher. He won in 24:13.0.

Sophomore Lucas Goodspeed was Harding's next finisher. He placed 45th with a career-best time of 26:16.5. Junior Russell Chase was 51st in 26:23.4, just off his career-best.

Senior Logan Green and freshman Matthew Rice also finished in Harding's top five. Green placed 56th in 26:31.8, and Rice was in Harding's top five for the first time in his career and placed 67th in a career-best 26:47.1.

Harding sophomore Milosz Golik was 73rd in 26:54.0, and senior Zach Uhiren was 84th in 27:01.9.

The Bisons will take next weekend off before racing in the UALR Invitational in Little Rock, Arkansas, on Oct. 18.