MADISON- Bob Jones track and field athlete Nichole Harting signed an athletic-academic scholarship with the University of South Alabama (USA) at a signing ceremony held on the campus of Madison’s oldest high school.

“This is a dream come true for me especially with the sport I love,” said Harting, who has a 4.1 grade point average and wants to major in secondary math education. “This scholarship doesn’t come lightly to me. I look forward to competing at the next level just as I had dreamed for several years.”

Harting throws the javelin for the Lady Patriots track team and finished third in the state at last year’s State Meet. Her best throw is 119-feet, 10 inches and she credits her huge success to practice, high reps of throwing, and numerous tries at weightlifting.

“My coaches, especially Coach (Robin) Gaines who works with me all the time by breaking down my technique and making me a better athlete, is how I made it,” said Harting. “I ran track at the beginning as my cousin, Kory Shivley, formerly of James Clemens and now at USA, talked me into joining the team and then my father recommended I try and throw the javelin. Without those two I wouldn’t have this scholarship.”

It was not until her freshman year at Bob Jones did Harting took up the javelin. She began to concentrate on that one field event after giving up running the 800-meter and heptathlon. Today, the 5-foot-10, 150-pound athlete wants to succeed in her college athletic endeavor as much as her older brother, Zach Harting, who is a swimmer for the University of Louisville.

For Harting, struggles with a physical condition after being diagnosed with narcolepsy has been time consuming and increasingly onerous. Though suffering the symptoms of feeling tired, having at times a low energy level and the constant threat of falling asleep at a moment’s notice, Harting was finally diagnosed early in 2018. “I always knew something was wrong,” added Harting. “I’ve been put on medication to help with my sleep disorder of falling into REM sleep very quickly.”

The offspring of Scott and Lori Harting, the Bob Jones senior is looking forward to her final season of throwing the javelin with the Patriots and then onto living out her dreams of those many nights of deep sleep.