Home Local Sports Carson Jordan: The Official Richmond County Male Athlete of the Week

Carson Jordan: The Official Richmond County Male Athlete of the Week

Carson Jordan has been named the Official Richmond County Male Athlete of the Week.
Photo courtesy of Kyle Pillar.

ROCKINGHAM – Carson Jordan, a sophomore on the Richmond Senior High School cross country team, has been named the fourth Official Richmond County Male Athlete of the Week for the 2018 fall sports season.

 Jordan is in his second year under head cross country coach Reggie Miller, and has shown through his ability on the course to be one of the Raiders’ most consistent runners during his sophomore campaign. This is Jordan’s first career selection.

Athletic Profile

Age: 15

Year: Sophomore

Fall Sport: Cross Country

Seed: No. 2 Runner

Years on Varsity: 2 Years

Height & Weight: 5-8, 140 pounds

Experience: 4 Years (began running in seventh grade at Rockingham Middle School)

“ON THE COURSE” WITH CARSON JORDAN

RSHS Academics: A first-semester sophomore, Jordan has already gotten his academic career at Richmond off to a solid start, much like his cross country season. He’s enrolled in the Advanced Placement and Career and Technical Education (CTE) clusters, and is taking all AP or honors courses this fall. Jordan is taking AP United States Government, AP Psychology, Honors Biology, Honors Computer Science Principles and Honors Microsoft Excel.

“I’m really enjoying AP US Gov with Mrs. (Suzanne) Hudson,” Jordan explained. “I like learning about the government, and history has always been my strong point. We talk about the founding principles of our government, and it‘s interesting to see how the inside of the country runs.”

As a freshman, Jordan hit the books to obtain the highest possible GPA a student can achieve, and currently has a 4.5 GPA to go along with his loaded semester. He’s also a member of the Richmond chapter of the National Beta Club, and noted he’s excited to see what activities he’ll participate in this school year.

Outside of school, Jordan volunteers frequently at his church, the First Presbyterian Church in Hamlet. He’s actively involved in helping with the church’s food bank, which he spends several days a month assisting the program.

RSHS Sports: Jordan was a two-sport athlete as a freshman, running cross country in the fall, and adding track and field in the spring. With track, Jordan runs in the longer distance events, including the 4×800-meter relay, and the 1600 and 3200 meter races.

“I like running cross country because it’s a lot more competitive than a person might think,” he shared. “I’m able to also relieve a lot of my stress when I’m running, and it can also help you in other sports because you’re always building your strength and endurance.”

This winter, Jordan hopes to add wrestling to the mix, as he plans to try out for head coach Earl Nicholson’s Raider wrestling team.

High School Aspirations: Like fellow Official Richmond County Female Athlete of the Week Allyson Leggett, Jordan has some time before he graduates from Richmond in 2021. Over the span of the next couple of school years, his primary academic goal will be to “keep all As and make the distinguished honor roll.” He also added that he’s “never earned a B” in any of his courses, and he’d like to keep it that way.

Because Jordan plans to take several other AP courses before his time at Richmond is done, he also noted he hopes to “pass every AP test” he takes to help him bypass general education courses in college. One test in particular he mentioned was earning his Microsoft Excel certification this fall.

Carson Jordan running in a cross country meet at Jack Britt earlier this season. 

Athlete of the Week Stats: The Raider cross country team has consistently been toward the top of the time sheet in several meets this season, and Jordan is one of several runners who has paved the way for Richmond. Over the last three meets at Jack Britt and Pinecrest high schools, Jordan has watched his training pay off, as he’s take nearly one minute off his time.

Jordan began the season by posting a 3.1 mile race time of 21:19, before improving to 21:09 at Jack Britt. In that meet, he was third on the team and 54th overall. Just one meet later, Jordan posted his best time to date at Pinecrest High School, clocking in at 20:30, a full 39 seconds better than his last race. In the meet at Pinecrest, the Patriots took the top spot, and Jordan placed second on the team behind senior Gerardo Godinez, and made a massive jump in the overall standings to the 19th finisher.

RAPID FIRE – FAST RESPONSES

1) What’s your favorite thing to do when you’re not at school or practice?

“I really enjoy video editing and playing Fornite,” Jordan said. “It’s a little nerdy, but that’s what I do. I have a Youtube channel and I help my friends make videos. Anything I can do to practice, I’ll do it.

“I’ve been playing Fornite since the beginning,” he continued. “I wouldn’t say it’s an addiction, but it’s entertaining and a very strategical game that allows me to bond with friends and make new friendships.”

2) Describe what it’s like running for Coach Miller and being a leader on the team?

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“Coach Miller is honest, which I like, and he’ll tell me when I do something wrong or something  good,” Jordan shared. “He really pushes me to get better. I’m not a team captain, but I can see myself as that next year — it’s natural for me to assume a leadership position.”

3) Who is someone who has impacted your life positively such as a mentor, teacher or coach?

“I really look up to both of my grandmas, Bobbie Jordan and Emma Brown,” Jordan explained. “I’ve learned a lot of life lessons from them, and they are both pretty wise people. I enjoy being around them.

“And I can’t forget my parents, Dawn and Terry Jordan,” he added. “I see them every day and they also give me really good learning experiences and help me be better at everything I do.”

4) Who is your favorite professional athlete and why? 

“I don’t really watch a lot of sports, but I’d have say to Cam Newton,” Jordan noted of the Carolina Panthers quarterback. “He’s received a lot of hate since he started in the NFL, and I admire how he’s learned to deal with it. He’s a great role model, and one of my friends got one of his footballs he hands out after scoring a touchdown, which I think is cool.”

5) Name an interesting fact about yourself that many people may not know about you.

“I’m really into retro video game collecting,” Jordan laughed. “I guess I’ve put too much money into it, but it’s definitely an investment and my collection has grown in value. The oldest system I have is the Atari 2600 — but other notables are an NES, Super Nintendo, a Nintendo 64, a Sega Genesis and a Sega Dreamcast.”

Coach’s Corner: Miller selected Jordan as his athlete of the week because of his hard work ethic during practice and meets, as well as his ability to lead his teammates by silent example.

“Carson has really become a much better runner this year than he was last year,” Miller said. “He’s a lot stronger and he’s really come into his own since he’s gotten the workouts down pat. Not only that, but he’s also improving his times in every race and every practice.

“I can expect him to come to practice every day and work hard,” Miller added. “He never complains, and doesn’t talk a lot, but he gets the job done. The improvement he’s shown this year has been great for our team. He’s no doubt a great leader because you can watch him as he runs and he never gives up. He leads by example.”



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Kyle Pillar is a 22-time North Carolina Press Association award-winning sports editor with The Richmond Observer. Follow the sports department on X @ROSports_ for the best in-depth coverage of Richmond County sports.