Often there are siblings who run and occasionally you find a family or three or four who all run for the same school. It is rare you find any more than five runners. Then there are the Hardings... 11 children and all runners!
So far, 10 of these athletes have ran and competed for Hidden Valley High School and often gone on to even compete collegiately. Up next though is our future star spotlight of the week, Lilah Harding.
Lilah is the 11th and final Harding to pass through the Hidden Valley ranks and is already a star. She is currently the favorite for middle school states (4K) where she is the top returner from last year.
Last year she finished 7th at States running a personal best of 15:03. That time was also a 90 second improvement on her season opening time which could mean we are in store for another big time this season as she ran 15:50 to open this year's campaign.
To be prepared for what is in store you need to know that her siblings didn't just run, they were legit too!
You have Olivia Harding (2011) who ran for William & Mary, Helena Harding (2014) who ran for South Carolina, Elijah Harding (2015) who ran for Clemson, and both Ava and Noah who competed for the Naval Academy.
In cross country, Ava Harding (2018) was all-state twice and Noah Harding (2020) was all-state three times.
Many of the Hardings still hold spots on the school record board as well but the question is how many will Lilah be able to take down.
To have this many successful children in any sport it takes a lot of structure both at the family level and team level. We asked former Hidden Valley Coach Dan King who coached nine of the Hardings and he was quick to remark on all the good qualities of the entire family.
"The Hardings are hard-working, respectful, dedicated, and loyal athletes with
incredible leadership abilities."
The current coaching staff is surely excited for what they have seen and expect this season. Keep an eye on Lilah as she progresses in our sport and joins the high school ranks next year. First up though, will be the middle school state championships this October 26th.