Fall Roundup: Harding ranked first in the east

Published 3:05 pm Friday, September 29, 2023

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Will Glover passes to Braeden Smithwick during the Pam Pack’s victory over Southwest Edgecombe Wednesday. (Steve Barnes/Washington Daily News)

Northside junior Andrew Harding broke his own school cross country record in Wednesday’s Coastal Plains 1A Conference meet at Pamlico County HS.

Harding covered the 5k course in 16:10t after running a 16.19.6 earlier this fall.  Ron Davis had held the NHS record of 16:44.4 since 1995. Harding’s time was also a Pamlico County HS course record.

Harding holds the fastest times for a Northside freshman, sophomore and junior as well as the overall record. He is ranked third in the state and number one in the east. Harding finished third in the state 1A cross country meet last fall with a time of 17:20

Senior Kiele Scott led the Panthers girls with a third place finish in 21:58 and is ranked third in the 1A east region.

The Washington boys finished second behind Farmville Central in Wednesday’s Eastern Plains 2A Conference meet at North Pitt HS. Michael Allen Gerard finished fourth overall to lead the Pack with a time of 20:55. Braxton Woolard was fifth in 20:56, while Tate Tucker set a personal record of 21:10 for seventh place. Louis Miller was eighth in 21:20.

The girls swept the top five spots without senior Haley Broadwell, who missed the race with an illness. Lydia Smith won with a time of 23:15, while Jessica Conner was second in 23:55. Reagan Fisher (24:40, Elizabeth Barrera (29:00) and Jasmine Figueroa (29:25) completed the top five.

SOCCER: The Pam Pack wrapped up a busy week with a sweep of North Pitt (2-0), West Craven (9-0) and Southwest Edgecombe (9-0) to go to 3-1 in conference play and 7-4 overall. WHS has won six of its last seven matches after an 0-3 start, with the only loss at rival Greene Central, 1-0, last week.

“It was a tough loss, but I’m proud of the way our young guys competed,” coach Jim Kozuch said. “We lost on a penalty kick late in the match that probably shouldn’t have been called. We lost 11 seniors from last year and have only two this year. We tried some different lineups and have started every game with a new formation. We’ve made great progress since the start and I’m looking forward to playing Greene Central at home in a couple of weeks.”

The Pack hosts the Rams Oct. 16. Kozuch points to a 3-0 victory against West Carteret right before the Greene Central loss as a turning point.

“They beat us 4-1 to start the season, so that shows we are making progress,” he said. “Will Glover has played well at striker/midfielder and our goalie, Gabby Jimenez, has developed into a leader. The guys listen to him on the field and he’s done a better job of getting the defense in the right spot lately.”

Southside is 8-4 after Thursday’s 5-4 victory against Southwest Edgecombe. As one of only four conference schools who have a soccer team, the Seahawks are 4-3 against non-conference 2A schools. Senior Kenny Avila leads the team with 19 goals and five assists, while classmate Jonatan Perez is second with 10 goals and seven assists.