Staff report

SPARTANBURG — Adalie Harrison has always been short (5-foot-1), but never short on determination.

Harrison, an East Rowan graduate who now competes in the Big South Conference for University of South Carolina Upstate, has been working toward a cross country PR for a while and got it last weekend when she ran 19:50 in the Upstate Invite. She was the third runner for her team and was in the top 100 in a large meet.

Harrison was a high school senior when COVID halted local sports in the spring of 2020. She lost two seasons, as she was competing in both soccer and track and field for the Mustangs.

She already had done enough in cross country in the fall (county champion) and basketball in the winter (leader of a 20-win team and first team All-Rowan County) to be named Rowan County Female Athlete of the Year.

Harrison went to Lenoir-Rhyne first, where she hoped to play basketball as well as run cross country and track. Basketball didn’t work out. After a transfer to Upstate. she has focused on running and has done very well.

Next for her is the Big South Conference Championships in Charleston on Nov. 1. She also has qualified for the regional, but the regional will likely be her final cross country race.

Academically, she’s been a success. She will earn a nursing degree in December.

She plans to continue to work on a minor in psychology as she competes for Upstate in indoor track and outdoor track during the winter and spring months.

Harrison’s older sister, Hollie, played basketball for East Rowan and Guilford and is an assistant coach for girls basketball at South Rowan.