ROCKINGHAM – Harmony Jones, a senior sprinter on the Richmond Senior High School Lady Raiders track and field team, has been named the Official Richmond County Female Athlete of the Week presented by McNair Auto Sales.
As she’s the only senior currently on the Lady Raiders’ squad that’s preparing for the Mid-West regionals this Saturday at Pinecrest High School, Jones is a veteran leader who head coach Reggie Miller has noted as being “one of the best athletes” he’s ever coached. Participating in five events throughout the spring season, Jones has been a part of a Richmond team that’s on its way to qualifying for the state championships for the first time since 2016. Her tremendous performance all season long earned her this week’s nomination.
Athletic Profile
Name: Harmony Jones
Age: 17
Year: Senior
Spring Sport: Track and Field
Events: 100, 200 and 400-meter dashes, 4x100 and 4x200-meter relays
Years on Varsity: 4 Years
Height & Weight: 5’-7”, 148 pounds
Experience: 4 Years
RSHS Academics: With the countdown to her high school graduation on with under a month to go, Jones said she’s “ready to graduate and get the college experience” that everyone talks about. But before she departs Richmond County, she has to finish her final semester as a Richmond Lady Raider. Currently she’s taking four classes: College Math Essentials with Ms. Garth, English IV with Ms. Covington, World History II with Ms. Small, and her favorite course, Advanced Weight Training with coach Shellie Wimpey.
Jones explained she likes weight training the most because the course “help gets her in shape” and that she’s been taking various levels of the course “for a long time” with Wimpey. One aspect she enjoys most is how Wimpey “always has new workouts” for her to try.
A straight-A student with a 3.05 GPA, Jones completed her career cluster last fall. She enrolled in the culinary cluster as a freshman, and her love for cooking has transpired into a career path for her.
“The culinary cluster is really good,” Jones said. “I took all my classes my ninth through 11th grade years, and finished with Foods I (in the fall). I like all the teachers and I got a lot of the information I was looking for when it comes to culinary.”
RSHS Sports: When she’s not running five events for track in the spring, Jones is also a threat on Miller’s cross country team in the fall. Explaining that she started running cross country her sophomore season after Miller approached her with the idea, she’s also found success in the longer distance races.
“Miller told me that cross country would help keep me in better shape, and it has,” Jones said, noting she ran it her sophomore and junior years before managing the team as a senior. “Cross country helped build my endurance for track, and made me better in the open 400-meter. I also learned how to pace myself and breathe better by running cross country.”
In 2016 and 2017, her sophomore and junior years, respectively, Jones was named to the All-Conference team for the 3.2 mile race.
Hobbies: Some hobbies Jones enjoys when she’s away from the track are hanging out with friends, going to the movies, going out to eat and working out in the gym with her sister. She also likes to travel with friends, noting she often goes with her best friend, Katelynn Karem, to visit family in Charlotte and Florida. A couple of weeks ago, Jones expanded her travels, going on a cruise to the Bahamas for her senior trip.
“I also love to cook,” Jones said. “My dad can cook -- he’s the one who got me into it. One of my favorite things to cook is lasagna rolls, which is one of the first things I ever made. I like to make mine with spinach and cheese. But I also like to try new things, and the other day I made pork chops and baked macaroni and cheese.”
Interesting Fact: According to Jones, many of her closest friends have identified her interesting fact for her. She said that she spends a lot of time binge watching Netflix series.
“It’s funny because a lot of my friends know how much I love watching Netflix,” Jones laughed. “When I’m watching, I block everyone out and put my phone on ‘do not disturb.’ My mind is gone.
“It first started when I took a health science class and the teacher showed an episode of Grey’s Anatomy. Ever since then, I’ve watched all 13 seasons of that, watched a lot of Law and Order, and am watching NCIS right now. I really like the drama shows.”
College Aspirations: While she knows what she wants to do after graduating in June, Jones is still figuring out all of her college plan details. Initially, she never planned to go to college and run track, but has since reconsidered after a potential scholarship offer from Cincinnati Christian University may be in her future.
“My cousin, who runs at CCU, said that they are looking for more runners and that they have full scholarships,” Jones said. “But I won’t know if I get it until after I take my SATs on June 2.”
Regardless of where she goes, Jones knows she’ll major in business and get her undergraduate degree. After college, she wants to attend a culinary school so she can open her own “high class” restaurant that serves “all kinds of food.” She’s already been accepted into Johnson & Wales University’s culinary program, and is considering attending the Charlotte campus or one in Florida.
Mentor: For her mentors, Jones chose two men who have impacted her life on and off the track. The first is her father, Steven Jones, and the other is Miller.
“My dad has always influenced me,” Jones said. “He knows how to keep me in line, and makes sure I go to all of my practices and do well in school. He also supports me with track because he hangs all of my medals up around our house.
“Coach Miller keeps me coming back,” Jones said, noting Miller has done a great job at keeping her focused on track and cross country. “He never quits trying to help me get better with running. I’ve always liked him, and he’s been like a second dad to me these last four years.”
Athlete of the Week Stats: This season, Jones has found some success in the 100-meter dash. She placed in the top five in three of the six SAC meets this season, and actually won the event on her home track at Raider Stadium on March 22. She outran teammates Monasia Kearns and Dymond McNeal to the finish line recording her season-best time of 12.84 seconds in the event.
In the 200-meter dash, the Lady Raiders set the tone for the season in their very first meet of the year. Jones (26.34), Kearns (26.94), Mykala Oates (28.34) and Myesia Covington (29.34) finished in the two through five positions, respectively. Jones also finished in second place in the 200-meter dash two more times in SAC meets held in Southern Pines and Fayetteville.
Although the Lady Raiders haven’t had much team success in the 400-meter dash, the best time of the season came from Jones, who recorded a time of 1:03.69 in a second-place finish at the regular season conference meet at Pinecrest High School a couple of weeks ago.
During her three previous seasons with Richmond, Jones has been named to the All-Conference team all three years, landing five different recognitions. She’s been honored on the 4x400 relay team three times, while being named once for the 4x100 and 4x200-meter relays, respectively.
As you head into regionals on Saturday, how has this season compared to all the other ones while you’ve run at Richmond?
“We’ve gotten a lot better this season,” Jones expressed. “Last year, we didn’t make it to the state championship, but this year we have better runners and are faster. I hope we make it to states.
“I expect to win at regionals on Saturday,” Jones added, as she’ll be competing in the 400-meter and the 4x100, 4x200 and 4x400-meter relays. “We need to knock some seconds off our time and get our times right for states.”
Which events do you enjoy the most and why?
“I really like the 4x100 and 4x200 relays,” Jones said without blinking an eye. “I feel like I’m more dedicated in those events. I have my teammates relying on me to run fast. They’re exciting events and we compete better as friends.
“But the open 400-meter is my best event,” she concluded. “It’s just easy for me. Running cross country helped me with that. And a lot of colleges are looking for good 400 runners.”
Coach’s Corner: Miller, who has coached Jones all four years, said she is a special runner who has done a lot of great things during her tenure with the Lady Raiders.
“It’s been great coaching Harmony from the beginning during her ninth grade year,” Miller said. “She ran cross country for me to get her endurance up. But she came out and was competitive and I found out she was a distance runner and a sprinter. I had a multi-runner, someone who could run well in track, but also run the mile or two-mile as well.
“She’s been a big asset to the team,” Miller added. “I can put her anywhere in almost any event on the track. She’s a leader who leads by example and she doesn’t like to lose. She’s gives her all in every race. She can run in any leg for us (during a relay race) and she gives us production all the time. It’s rare for someone to be named All-Conference as much as she has.”
