Andrew Vandine grew up in Spokane and started running cross country in 2006 when he was in fourth grade. Andrew credits his father, Mark Vandine, 30-year high school cross country and track coach, for introducing him to the sport and fostering his love for distance running.
In high school, Andrew competed for national powerhouse North Central in Spokane where he helped his school win its 8th and 9th consecutive cross country state titles his junior and senior years. With its 9th consecutive win, North Central tied the state record winning streak set in the 1990s by Mead High School - Mead being coached at that time by Pat Tyson prior to him becoming the Men’s Cross Country Head Coach at Gonzaga. In Andrew’s 4 years at North Central, his team placed no lower than 8th at the Nike Cross National Championships with Andrew personally being a contributor to the 8th place 2013 team and 3rd place 2014 team. His highest individual finish at Nike Cross Nationals was 57th in 2014. In 2011 and 2012, Andrew was teammates and training partners with Katie Knight, who placed 3rd individually at Nike Cross Nationals both years. In 2013 and 2014 respectively, two of his other teammates, Kai Wilmot and Tanner Anderson, were Nike Cross National Champions. On the track, Andrew graduated high school with a pair of 4:13 performances to his name in the 1600 meters and ran the 800 meter leg on the 3rd fastest high school distance medley relay (DMR) team in Washington State history with a time of 10:05.
Andrew went on to compete at Montana State University for 4 years, graduating in 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering. Injuries plagued him for the majority of his time at Montana State, including a whiplash injury that nearly ended his career. Between injuries, Andrew contributed to Montana State’s 12th place finish at the 2017 NCAA Mountain Regional Cross Country Championships. His best individual performance came during the 2017 indoor track season where he finished in 13th in the Mile at the Big Sky Conference Championships.
Following his time at Montana State, Andrew returned to Spokane where he has lived since. After several years, he was able to heal from his whiplash injury and return to running.
“I’m thrilled to be living back in Spokane,” Vandine said. “The latest addition to this city’s rich running history has been the rise to prominence of Gonzaga Women’s Cross Country. Coach Stewart has made such a positive impact on the program and has done an incredible job transforming this team into the perennial power that we see today. Success begins with culture, and Coach Stewart places a strong emphasis on the development of an amazing team culture. I am excited to learn from Coach Stewart and am honored to be working with such a fantastic group of women.”
