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.
The Waynesburg track & field teams combined to set 10 program records (six men’s, four women’s) during the 2024-25 indoor and outdoor seasons. Jacob Harker claimed Presidents’ Athletic Conference indoor and outdoor titles in the shot put and was a USTFCCCA All-Region in both seasons. Natalie Double collected all-region applause in the javelin during the outdoor campaign.
In the 2023-24 season, the Waynesburg men’s track & field program set 14 program records (five indoor, nine outdoor) and placed fourth at the PAC Outdoor Championships, the squad’s top finish since 2015. Isaiah Mathews and Quintin Weaver collected all-region honors from the USTFCCCA.
Going into his 16th year as Waynesburg University head cross country coach, Chris Hardie 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 conference champs 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.
The veteran head man was named 2014 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.
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 also a competitive runner. 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.
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 Alzheimer’s Association and Habitat for Humanity.
He is also employed at Waynesburg University as its Assistant Director of Athletics, Facilities and Transportation. Coach Hardie is married to his wife Kelley, who is also employed by Waynesburg University as its Dean of Students. The couple resides in Waynesburg with their daughter, Madison.
