Roger State Athletics Hall of Fame
Baylor Harvey was a five-year member of both the Hillcat men’s cross country and track and field teams and put the two programs on the map with the most decorated career in program history. The Cleveland Okla. native was a two-time cross country All-American and a track and field All-American, the first student-athlete in RSU history to accomplish this feat. Harvey’s impact on the record books is still felt as he holds the top 8k time of 24:07.6 and the top 10k time of 30:52.3. He also still holds three track and field records with the indoor 3,000 meter (8:15.86), the outdoor 1,500 meter (3:55.15) and the outdoor 5,000 meter (14:16.55).
However, his records do not tell the whole story as his individual performances helped set the standard of excellence for the men’s cross country program. As a freshman, Harvey made an impact immediately as he earned All-Heartland Conference honors finishing in the top 10 at the conference cross country championships. He followed that up in his sophomore campaign winning the 2014 Heartland Conference Cross Country Championship. In 2016, Harvey again captured the individual title at the Heartland Conference Championships and went on to become the first All-American in the Division II era of Rogers State with a 19th place finish at the Division II National Championships. His crowning achievement came during the 2017 season, when not only did he win his third conference individual title but led the Hillcats to their first Heartland Conference Championship as well. After he finished in the top 10 at the South Central Regional Championship and helped the team to a seventh place finish, Harvey led RSU to their first-ever team appearance in the National Championship as he picked up his second All-American honor with a 19th place finish.
His track and field accomplishments are just as impressive. In the program’s first year in existence in 2016, Harvey shattered his then-school record in the 5,000 meter covering the distance in a time of 14:35.29 at the prestigious Texas Relays and ran past 10 NCAA Division I runners. Later that season, he won the Great American Conference Outdoor Championship in the 5,000 meter. In 2017, Harvey returned to the Texas Relays to finish fifth in the 5,000 meter and later reset the school record in the event at the acclaimed Drake Relays. He also claimed the GAC Championship in the outdoor 1,500 meter. For his performance across the season, Harvey punched his ticket to the National Championships, where he became the first Division II Track and Field All-American in program history with a record time of 14:16.55 in the 5,000 meter.
