“Carmen is the total package: student-athlete, role model and leader. She didn’t lose a race to a runner from North Carolina during the 2019 NCHSAA campaign and she is the ultimate team player. She tries to encourage her teammates to be the best they can be, and the team has not lost a conference meet in her career.”

John Bucholtz

Head Coach - Pinecrest head coach

Athletic Excellence

The state’s returning Gatorade Runner of the Year, the 5-foot-7 junior distance talent won the NCHSAA Class 4A state title this past season, breaking the tape in 17:58.84—26.3 seconds ahead of her next-closest competitor—and leading the Patriots to a fourth-place finish as a team. Alder also won the adidas XC Challenge Girls Championship race in 17:36.10, and was the top North Carolina performer at the prestigious Great American XC Festival’s Race of Champions, crossing the line sixth in 17:39.30. She capped her season by winning the AAU National Championship with a time of 18:34.35 and was victorious in 11 of 13 races she entered last fall.

Academic Achievement

Alder has maintained a 3.63 weighted GPA in the classroom. She will begin her senior year of high school this fall.

Exemplary Character

Alder has volunteered locally for a youth running team and has donated her time to the Special Olympics of Moore County.