Christopher Hardie

One of the most veteran coaches at Waynesburg University, Chris Hardie currently serves as director of Cross Country and Track. He has headed the Yellow Jacket track & field program since the 2020-21 campaign and has done the same for Waynesburg’s cross country program since the 2010 campaign.

Going into his 14th year as Waynesburg University head cross country coach, Chris Hardie has built a PAC powerhouse with the women's cross country program. The Yellow Jackets won six-straight PAC titles from 2016 to 2021 and boasted three of the six individual NCAA championship qualifiers along that same stretch. Not surprisingly, Hardie has won seven PAC Women's Coach of the Year crowns.

In 2016, the Yellow Jacket women won the first PAC team title in program history, before placing sixth at the 51-team NCAA Division III Mideast Regional Championships. That same fall, Katie and Emily Latimer, senior twin sisters, both qualified for the NCAA Division III National Championships. The two saved their best for last, as they both bested the previous school record at nationals.

In 2017, then-senior Angie Marchetti led Waynesburg in its defense of the PAC crown and took home the individual gold medal by winning the race with an 11-second margin of victory. Marchetti went on to earn all-region laurels.

Then-sophomore Aubrey Wingeart not only won the 2019 PAC title and was named PAC Runner of the Year, but became the Jackets' fourth national qualifier in five years. Wingeart also qualified and competed in the 2021 NCAA Championships to become the fifth WU representative in the national championships. *Prior to the championship streak starting in 2016, Hardie helped guide sophomore Julie Gerber to a national championship berth in 2015.

Hardie was announced as the head coach of the Waynesburg University men’s and women’s cross country teams prior to the 2010 season.

The veteran head man was named 2014 Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Coach of the Year after leading the Jacket women to a second consecutive runner-up finish at the PAC championship meet. Six Waynesburg runners earned All-PAC accolades, including three first-team distinctions.

The Jacket men added a third-place showing under Hardie at the same event and picked up a pair of all-conference laurels.

Hardie took over as the leader of the Waynesburg University track & field on an interim basis, before becoming the head coach prior to the 2021-22 school year following an eight-year run as an assistant that ran from 2006 to 2013. During his first stint with the Jacket tracksters, Hardie focused on the team’s ultra-successful throwers. Included in that group were former NCAA Division III qualifiers Elisha Jones, Marybeth Rocco, Addy Knetzer and Megan Sowers.

Sowers and Jones brought All-American honors back to Waynesburg in the javelin, while Knetzer did the same in the shot put. In 2023, he helped guide Kat Henderson to a 10th place finish at the Indoor National Championships in the women's pentathlon.

Hardie earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from California University of Pennsylvania in 2000. He added a master’s degree in regional planning from Cal in 2002.

While earning his undergraduate degree, Hardie was a standout on the Vulcans track team. He was a three-time team captain and competed in a total of 11 different events. He also competed for the Cal cross country team from 1997-2000 and was a regional qualifier twice. In 2000, Hardie also tried his hand at rugby.

The veteran coach attended Hollidaysburg Area High School, which he graduated from in 1996. While there, Hardie earned nine total letters in soccer, track & field, baseball and swimming.

Along with his coaching resume, Hardie is still competitive in track and distance running. He has run six ultra-marathons with his best finish coming in the 2009 Big Bear Twelve Hour Run with a fifth overall finish. He has also completed six marathons and competed in 75 races of other varying distances. He estimates that he has ran over 13,000 miles over his 15 years of running. In the summer of 2023, Hardie won the bronze medal in the pentathlon at the USATF Master's National Championships in the 45-49 age group.

Hardie was also the founder of charity running organization called “Chris Cross the County” and has run for charitable organizations such as the American Cancer Society, The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, the Alzhiemer’s Association and Habitat for Humanity.

In addition to Track and Field/XC, Hardie is an assistant athletic director assisting with Transportation and Maintenance. He is married to his wife Kelley, who is also employed by Waynesburg University. The couple resides in Waynesburg with their daughter, Madison.

B.A., M.A., California University of Pennsylvania