Vanessa Alder is headed to Carlisle in the fall.
The North Carolina distance standout is transferring to Carlisle High School for at least the upcoming year, Alder's father Dan Alder and Carlisle coach Ed Boardman confirmed to PennTrackXC. Alder is coming off an impressive sophomore season at Pinecrest in Southern Pines, NC, but now she is headed north to the Keystone State.
Alder was second at the NCHSAA State XC Championship in 4A, NC's largest classification, in January. She ran a 5K XC best of 17:57 at the Carolina Liberty Freedom Invitational. On the track, Alder has racked up personal bests of 4:38.86 for 1,500m, 4:57.98 for 1,600m, 4:59.63 for the mile, and 10:52.00 for 3,200m.
The Carlisle girls' team graduates four of its top seven from last year's team, which placed fourth at the Mid-Penn Conference Championships. Alder should make a big impact on the team and will be among Pennsylvania's top distance runners for the upcoming cross country season. Carlisle competes in PIAA Class AAA in both XC and track and field.
Alder is the younger sister of Carmen Alder, who is a three-time North Carolina 4A state champion in XC. The sisters went 1-2 at the NCHSAA XC Championships this past January. She added many more state titles on the track, and ran outdoor track personal bests of 4:40.82 for 1,600m and 10:07.41 for 3,200m. Carmen is signed with BYU. Alder's mother, Janeth, competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona in the 3,000 meters, representing Ecuador. Bother Alder parents -- Janeth and Dan -- went to school and competed at BYU.
This is the second time in recent memory that Carlisle has got a notable transfer. In 2016, Noah Affolder and Sam Affolder, a pair of distance stars, moved from New York to Pennsylvania and attended Carlisle.
Watch an interview with Vanessa Alder after taking second to her sister at the NC XC state meet below.
