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Northside sophomore Andrew Harding finished third in the 1A boys state cross country meet Saturday at Ivey Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville.

Harding covered the 5K course in 17:20, the same pace he set in last week’s 1A East Regional where he finished second.

“I felt great at the start and relied on my training the last mile,” Harding told NC MileSplit after the race. “I wanted to stay with the pack at the front and I managed to pick up a couple of spots near the end. I increased my summer training to 35-40 miles a week to get ready for the season and it really helped me today.”

Andrews HS freshman O’Malley Salinas won the 1A boys race with a time of 16:46, while a Christ the King HS runner took second in 17:01.

Junior Mason Newman finished 39^th, while seniors Zane Brooks and Zander Geritz, juniors Tucker Proctor and Wilson Cleary, along with freshman Trent Ipock also competed for Northside. The boys team finished 13^th behind champion South Stanly.

Junior Kiele Scott led the girls with a 49^th place finish in 23:49. Senior Leah Cahoon, sophomore Emma Boyd and freshmen Brooke Harding, Emrie Scott and Bailey Singleton also competed for the Panthers. The team finished 14^th behind champion Swain County.

The Washington High School girls finished 11^th in the 2A race behind champion North Carolina School of Science and Math.

Freshman Lydia Smith led the Pam Pack with a 69^th place finish in 24:02. Junior Hailey Broadwell, sophomores Jessica Conner, Reagan Fisher and Sary Acosta and freshman Jasmine Figueroa rounded out the WHS team.

“I am very proud of the girls effort and how they represented WHS,” coach Dawn Landen said. “While we were disappointed with our times, many of the girls improved their places against other runners from our region. They are all coming back next year and were talking about what they needed to do to improve for next year. That’s always a good sign.”