Wide world of Harding sports

For many former Harding students looking back on their time in college, some of their best memories are from traveling overseas. For Harding athletes, it is often difficult or impossible to take an entire semester away from their teams, so the University has provided other opportunities. In recent years, at least four Harding teams have made preseason trips overseas: men’s basketball, baseball, volleyball and most recently women’s soccer. In May 1998, the men’s basketball team traveled to El Salvador to put on clinics and teach the game to local players. Baseball went to Mision Para Cristo in Jinotega, Nicaragua, in December 2017 and played games against local teams. Harding’s volleyball team traveled to the Dominican Republic in Summer 2019 and is planning another trip next summer to Costa Rica. The most recent team to venture overseas was the women’s soccer team who spent two weeks in Greece over the summer in preparation for the 2023 season. 

The Bison Athletes in Training program is another opportunity for athletes to travel internationally. BAT is a condensed summer program designed for students who want to engage in offseason training while touring Europe. In Summer 2023, student-athletes traveled to Greece, Italy and Germany and participated in workouts in local gyms and on local fields. “The BAT program allows student-athletes who cannot be away from Searcy in the fall or spring, and might even be limited on the amount of time they can be away in the summer, to participate in these wonderful opportunities,” BAT leader Clay Beason said. 

In addition to travel, students gain cultural exchange experiences through relationships with international student-athletes. Alicia Rojas-Wolfe (’96), a native of Cinatario, Mexico, was the first women’s tennis player and the first international student-athlete inducted into the Harding Athletics Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2001. She was three-time All-Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference and was an NAIA All-American in 1995 after earning All-America Honorable Mention accolades the two previous seasons. 

In 2012, three more international student-athletes entered the Harding Athletics Hall of Fame. Janet Kogo Cherobon-Bawcom (’05), a native of Kapsabet, Kenya, ran cross-country and track in the early 2000s. She was a two-time Gulf South Conference individual champion in cross-country and a two-time cross-country All-American. On the track, she won three national championships, two in the 5,000 meters and another in the 10,000 meters. In 2012, she became the first Harding athlete ever to compete in the Olympic Games placing 12th in the 10,000 meters in London.

Another Kenya native, Jacob Rotich (’04), also entered the Hall of Fame in 2012. Rotich won two individual cross- country conference championships and earned three All-America honors in cross-country. He won the national championship in the 10,000 meters in 2004. Also in that class was Mexico native Arturo Rodriguez (’98), the first international men’s tennis player enshrined. He was a two-time All-American in 1995 and 1997 and won 136 combined matches in singles and doubles.

Two more international student- athletes entered the Hall of Fame in 2017. Manuela Nesheva Harris (’10), a native of Lukovit, Bulgaria, was an All-American in volleyball in 2007 and remains Harding’s career leader in kills and service aces. Kenyan Daniel Kirwa (’11) entered that year as well after earning 13 All-America honors and four national championships in track and field. 

In the most recent class, Harding inducted an all-time high four international student-athletes. Mexico native Guillermo Hernandez (’98) was Rodriguez’s doubles partner and a 1995 NAIA All-American Artur Kern (’07), a native of Poland, was the 2006 Gulf South Conference cross-country champion and a three-time cross-country All-American. Calister Uba ('99) ran the 100 meters for her native Nigeria at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics before coming to Harding. She was a six-time All-American and the 1997 NAIA outdoor 100-meter national champion and 1998 indoor NCAA II 55-meter national champion. Poland native Ewa Zaborowska (’16) was a six-time All-American in track and field and a three-time Academic All-American, winning the 2015 NCAA Elite 89 Award for the highest GPA at the 2015 indoor national meet.

These international student-athletes represent hundreds of students from all over the world who study at Harding each year. They enhance the experience of the entire student body by sharing their cultures and learning from each other. Students’ worldviews expand as they build global relationships near the foothills of the Ozarks.

International student-athletes by the numbers

25 countries represented in 2023-24

51 international student-athletes in 2023-24, more than 11% of the student-athlete population

16 of the 18 teams have at least one international student-athlete on the roster

52 international student-athletes in Harding’s history have earned All-America honors

9 international student-athletes have been inducted into the Harding Athletics Hall of Fame so far