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YEATESVILLE, N.C. – A lot can be accomplished in 30 seconds. Andrew Harding is hoping it culminates in a state cross country title.

The Northside High School senior is one of the state’s top athletes in the sport. His humble beginnings from running with his brother so he could compete with him have led to improved performances each year. In the Class 1-A state finals in 2021, he finished 31st as a freshman (18:23.66), was third as a sophomore (17:20.31) and second as a junior (16:06.67). His time last year was about 30 seconds behind state winner Blake Nicholson of Christ the King (15:36.84).

“I am very, very proud of Andrew,” said first-year head coach Casey Schulte, who ran cross country when she attended Northside and was an assistant coach last season. “He is very self-driven, self-motivated. He works a full-time job, is a full-time student. I’m also an avid runner, and I will see him out 6 o’clock in the morning running, 8 o’clock at night. After work, he’s running. A lot of what he does is his own workout, his own workout routine. He loves the sport and is motivated to do well.”

Andrew’s brother, Jordan Harding, ran cross country at Northside as a senior. So, Andrew decided to do the same, putting aside sports like baseball and basketball, which he had been playing since he was very young.

“Cross country was the only chance I had to play a sport with him,” Andrew said. “So, I decided I’d try cross country, and I ended up being way better than I expected. I just decided to quit all the other sports and start doing this.”

Harding also ran track and other events after each cross country season. After finishing second in the 1-A state cross country finals last fall, he also did indoor track and participated in events like the Nike Cross Regionals meet in Cary and an indoor national event in Virginia Beach.

Earlier this year as a junior, he placed second in the one-mile indoor track state final and was third in the two-mile event. He also placed second in the state in the one-mile outdoor final. He did that while working a full-time job and being a student. He said he took about a week off and then got ready for his senior season of cross country.

“Last season, getting second in the states just shows me I can run up there with the top guys,” Harding said. “It gives me that motivation, getting so close gives me the motivation to want to win even more.”

“He’s an example of what happens when you put in the work, when you dial in, when you run on the weekends, when you run over the summer,” Schulte said. “So, a lot of my freshmen have gotten bitten by this little running bug because they want to be like Andrew.”

Three other runners, now sophomores, ranked high in last year’s state cross country final. With only one other senior and a large group of freshmen on this year’s team, the sky’s the limit for the team in its quest to top Pamlico County and Lejeune in the race to be conference champs. Schulte said Harding is a quiet leader and has been helping the team become the best it can be while he also focuses on taking home a state title.

“It’s interesting to see how they will come to him and he will give them advice,” Schulte said. “It’s always positive affirmation, he compliments them, and that’s what I appreciate about his expertise so much. I might tell them one thing and he’ll tell them the exact same thing in just some different words.”

“I definitely want to improve on my times and help the team as much as I can,” Harding said. “I can go out there and win, score a point but there’s lots of other ways I can help the team. Some days if it’s an easier race, I can help pace some people and help them get to their best times. Just doing things like that.”