Tightknit seniors form special group
Posted on Sunday, September 29, 2002
FAYETTEVILLE — Londa Bevins’ first trip to Arkansas ’ Randal Tyson Track Center was unforgettable.
It wasn’t the world-class track or even a personal best that made such an indelible impression. It wasn’t the throngs of appreciative fans or the electric atmosphere.
The smiles on the Lady Razorbacks’ faces were what stuck in Bevins’ mind. That, and the sight of Coach Lance Harter constantly patting his athletes, win or lose, on the back. "It just looked really fun, which is what I was not having,"Bevins said.
Bevins was a Texas Longhorn at the time but was nearly drained of competitive spirit because of what she refers to only as "a coaching situation."The situation eventually became so unbearable Bevins decided to transfer.
Arkansas seemed a logical destination. "There was a while there where we were Transfer U.,"Harter said with a laugh.
Indeed, Lilli Kleinmann had transferred to Arkansas one year ahead of Bevins, and Andreina Byrd would come a year later. There was even a preexisting path from Austin to Fayetteville, cut by Jessica Dailey a few years earlier.
Bevins couldn’t have known all that at the time, though, and neither could she have imagined she would become part of the deepest, most talented senior class in Arkansas’ storied cross country history.
Harter’s Lady Razorbacks have won nine of 11 SEC cross country championships since joining the league in 1991, and there is no reason to think picking up No. 12 on Nov. 4 will be much more than a formality.
Arkansas’ confidence stems from having the 2000 individual champion (Klenimann), the 2001 champion (Byrd) and runner-up (Christin Wurth), as well as Bevins, another All-SEC performer who earned her first career cross country victory earlier this month at the Fayetteville Invitational.
Mix in a stable of promising younger runners with the proven veterans, and the number of smiles traded among the seventh-ranked Lady Razorbacks is at an all-time high. "I don’t know if I want to graduate, I’m having so much fun,"Wurth said.
That Harter ended up with such a dynamic senior class is largely circumstantial, with various injuries and eligibility rules resulting in a seemingly stacked deck. "We couldn’t have bought this in years past,"Harter said.
Much like cards in a deck, Arkansas’ senior foursome shares some similarities but is marked more by its individual characteristics. Wurth is the only one who has spent her entire career at Arkansas, and teammates label her decidedly driven. "Christin is the one who really knows what she wants,"Kleinmann said.
What Wurth wants is a professional racing career followed by a job as a computer programmer.
Kleinmann also sees a future in business, possibly in marketing with a company like Nike, or maybe teaching at a university. Whatever comes her way, Kleinmann will take it with a lighter approach than the one she had when she arrived in Fayetteville. "When she first got here she was way serious... and it’s been fun to see her calm down some and see her actually have fun with (running),"Wurth said. "I’ve been with Lilli since the start, and to see Lilli now and to see Lilli back then, it’s a totally different Lilli.
"And yet, being a totally different Lilli, she can probably accomplish the same things, if not more. She’s learned how to relax. "
The same can be said for Byrd, although her running partners still describe her as the"most serious"member of team. Despite being an academic All-American pre-med student, one of Byrd’s few weaknesses is her love of coffee.
In fact, Byrd’s jones for java proved costly at a meet last season. "She could’ve won the race probably, but she drank four cappuccinos before the race,"Kleinmann said with a laugh. "Then it got really humid and hot, so she got totally dehydrated and just died at the end. She only has one before races now."
Bevins, meanwhile, has quietly transformed herself into a legitimate cross country threat. An art education major, Bevins ’ initial bashfulness seems to have won her great favor with her teammates, who all smile widely when asked to describe her.
The four distinct personalities meld together beautifully, though, when it’s time to toe the starting line. "It’s a good mixture... because if we were all of one type, there would be a lot of ups and downs,"Byrd said. "This way, there is always balance."
There are still plenty of smiles and pats on the back, too. "Running is fun now,"Bevins said. "It wasn’t then... and if it’s not fun, it’s not worth doing."
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